A. DIEBCTOEY, 

BUSINESS MIRROR, 



AND 



HISTORICAL SKETCHES 



OF 

RANDOLPH COUNTY: 

CONTAINING THE NAME, RESIDENCE, AND OCCUPATION OP EVERY CITI- 
ZEN OP THE county; with a condensed sketch op kaskaskia 

AND PRAIRIE DU ROCHER, COMMENCING WITH THEIR INDIAN 
HISTORY: A SKETCH OP CHESTER, SPARTA, RED BUD, LIB- 
ERTY, STEELE SVILLE, EDEN, EVANSVILLE, COULTER- 
VILLE, LAFAYETTE, PRESTON, FLORENCE, SHILOH 
HILL, RANDOLPH AND CAMPTOWN. ALSO, 

A CONDENSED SKETCH OF EANDOLPH COUNTY., 

FROM THK TIME OF ITS ORGANIZATION : 
WITH BRIEF NOTES OF THE PIONEER SETTLERS. 

By E. J. MONTAGUE. 



ALTON, ILL.: 
COURIER STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTING HOUSE. 

1859. 



NOTICE. 



The matter which this work contains suggests its object, and 
demonstrates its value and necessity. 

No attempt has been made to write history — only an effort to 
collect the materials and place them in preservation, to be used 
by some one who shall write that history at some future day. 
The pioneers, from whom the history must be gathered, are fast 
passing away ; and if the brief sketches here prepared will pre- 
serve their memory and the events in which they figured, until 
they shall be placed in some more enduring form, the object of 
the writer will have been fully attained. 

The difficulty which has been experienced in obtaining defi- 
nite information respecting those early settlers, leads the writer 
to believe that slight inaccuracies may have occurred, and some 
omissions made, but these were unavoidable. 

The imperfect sources from which the names, residences, and 
occupation of the inhabitants of the county have been obliged 
to be gathered, have rendered slight omissions probable. Such 
imperfections necessarily occur in the preparation of such a work 
for the first time. 



SKETCHES OF KASKASKIA. 



INDIANS. 

For many years before Kaskaskia was known to the 
white man, it was an Indian village, around which the 
crude natives hunted and fished, boiled their corn and 
venison, smoked the calumet, and danced to the guttural 
notes of discordant music. Without a reference, there- 
fore, to the Indian tribe from which Kaskaskia has 
taken its name, a sketch of the place', however complete 
in other particulars, would yet be imperfect, 

At the time when the first white adventurers ex- 
tended their explorations into Illinois, a confederation 
embracing five tribes — the KaskaskiaSj.the Cahokias, 
the Tammarais (or Tamaroas,) the Peorias and the 
Mitchigammies — were found inhabiting the Illinois 
country, and were called the "Illinois Confederacy.'' 

The Kaskaskias occupied the country around the 
village which bears their name, and claimed for their 
hunting grounds the district which now embraces the 
counties of Randolph, Jackson, Perry, Washington, and 
portions of St. Clair and Monroe. The Cahokias in- 
habited the region around Cahokia — another Indian 
village — whose history commences and runs along with 
that of Kaskaskia — situated on the eastern bank of the 
Mississippi river, in St. Clair county, a little below a 
*] 



6 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

point opposite the city of St. Louis. The Tamniarais 
have left no traces of their locality, except that the 
Twelve Mile Prairie, in St. Clair county, was formerly 
called "Prairie Tammarais," which gives foundation to 
the opinion that that was the place of their residence. 
It was an Indian tradition that this tribe was nearly 
exterminated in a battle with the Shawnees, fought on 
Six Mile Prairie, in Perry county. The bones of the 
slain, and other evidences of the battle were to be seen 
there not many years ago. Sometime afterward, this 
tribe lost its national identity and united with the Caho- 
kias. The Peorias ranged along the Illinois river in the 
region of the now flourishing city of Peoria, and left the 
evidences of their battles with other tribes in that coun- 
try, which are yet visible. The Mitchigammies were 
first found along the shores of Lake Michigan. But 
they removed in a few years afterwards, and settled 
about Fort Chartres and Prairie du Eocher. Soon after- 
ward they ceased to exist as a distinct tribe, and the 
remnants blended with the Kaskaskias. 

These tribes were once numerous and powerful in 
war, and successfully defended their claims to the coun- 
try around the southern borders of Lake Michigan; but 
a series of disastrous conflicts with the doubly savage 
Pottowatomies — a powerful branch of the great Chip, 
peway nation, who claimed and exercised hunting and 
fishing dominion over that vast extent of country which 
now embraces the States of Wisconsin, Michigan, In- 
diana and the northern portions of Illinois — so reduced 
their numbers that the)' were forced southward in search 
of relief from their cruel adversaries. But even here 
they were not secure from their savage kinsmen. Pred- 
atory bands of Kickapoos and Shawnees occasionally 
engaged them in war, and reduced them in numbers. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 7 

One by one these tribes ceased to exist, and united with 
another, until finally, in the year 1830, the whole Con- 
federacy was merged into the Kaskaskia tribe, and 
known only as the "Kaskaskia Indians." 

Thus banded together, and having only about one 
hundred and fifty warriors, they were in a condition to 
love peace rather than war, of which they had had more 
than sufficient to satiate the ferocity of their savage 
natures. They hailed the advent of the whites among 
them with joy, and cultivated their friendship as a 
source of protection against the attacks of their Indian 
enemies. For this reason, they became the friends of 
the whites, and often rendered valuable services in the 
capacity of spies and guides. It was the boast of 
Ducoagne, or Ducogne, their last chief, that his tribe 
had never shed the blood of the white man. 

They cultivated some corn in the American Bottom, 
which, with the game the}' obtained by hunting, fur- 
nished them a subsistence. They exchanged their furs 
with the French traders for such articles of apparel as 
their habits of life and tastes demanded. Leading a 
listless, indolent life, with no higher aim or ambition 
than obtaining sufficient food and raiment to supply the 
wants of nature, they became lazy, drunken, degraded- 
and debauched, and lost that noble spirit of dignity 
and independence which pulses in the veins of the true 
Indian. 

In the year 1833, finding their hunting grounds occu- 
pied by the industrious white man, and not fitted to enjoy 
the privileges of encroaching civilization, they bade fare- 
well to the land which had been the lifetime home of 
themselves and their fathers, and joined that stubborn 
tide of emigration which has borne away towards the 
Pacific Ocean all that wild race of men, who once held 



8 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

undisputed possession of the Continent. With tear- 
ful eyes and bitter lamentations, they turned their backs 
upon scenes familiar and dear, and sought new hunting 
grounds towards the setting sun. The tribe is now 
extinct, but a few of the descendants still live with 
other tribes of the West. The common fate of the 
Indian race is a source of saddening reflection; but the 
contributions to Christianity, to science, to industrial en- 
terprise, and the world's material wealth, and to the 
political elevation of mankind, which have followed in 
their retreating wake, sufficiently vindicate the usurpa- 
tion. 



DISCOVERY A]NT33 SETTLEMENT OE 

The precise time of the discovery and settlement of 
Kaskaskia by the whites is not definitely fixed, but the 
bast known data determine it to have been in the year 
1686. Exploring parties had been traversing the Miss- 
issippi valley for some time before Kaskaskia was 
marked for settlement. A brief reference, therefore, to 
these successive expeditions becomes necessary in com- 
pleting the chain of events which gave an origin to Kas- 
kaskia. 

The roinantic adventures of James Mabquette. the 
Jesuit Missionary, and Chevalier Joliet, a merchant 
of Quebec, are familiar to the readers of Western his- 
tory. These two indefatigable and fearless men were the 
pioneers of those explorations which opened the Wes- 
tern wilderness to the ingress of a white population. 
Their first expedition was commenced on the 10th day 
of June, 1670. They started from Green Bay, accom- 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 9 

panied by five others, and crossed the country on the 
head-waters of the Fox river to the Wisconsin, which 
stream they descended to its mouth, and floated out 
upon the broad bosom of the majestic Mississippi, on 
the 17th of the same month. From the time the he- 
roic adventurer, De Soto, and his brave followers 
discovered this great river, in 1542, its mighty current 
had swept along unseen by the eye of civilized man, 
until the day these two Frenchmen entered it at the 
mouth of the Wisconsin river. They beheld its gran- 
deur and magnitude, Marquette remarks, "with a joy 
I cannot express." 

Resolving at once to descend and see where the fresh, 
clear waters of this noble river were lost in the ocean , 
they lost no time in prosecuting their perilous journey. 
As they passed along, they noticed the Piasau — a paint- 
ed rock standing on the margin of the river, near the 
present city of Alton; the confluence of the Missouri's 
muddy current with the pure waters of the Mississippi; 
the Grand Tower — a high, perpendicular rock standing 
near the middle of the river, about thirty miles below 
the present city of Chester; the mouth of the Ohio, 
which they thought was the Wabash. Finally, reach- 
ing an Indian village in Arkansas, where they found 
the natives savage and ferocious, almost beyond control, 
and learning it was yet a long distance to the mouth of 
the river, they determined to return, and accordingly, 
on the 17th of July, one month from the day they first 
saw the river — they commenced their homeward jour- 
ney. Instead of returning by the Wisconsin river as 
they had come, they ascended the Illinois and reached 
Lake Michigan about the locality of Chicago, from 
whence they went direct to Green Bay, at which place 
they arrived in September. 



10 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

The pious and holy Marquette went about his mis- 
sionary labors with the Indians, and died suddenly soon 
afterwards. Joliet went immediately to Quebec, and 
spread an account of their discoveries before the peo- 
ple, who become so electrified by the thrilling narrative 
of their voyage that the spirit of adventure rose to 
fever heat. The news soon reached France, and pro- 
duced a similar excitement there. Impelled by the 
feverish zeal which these reports created, came Eobert 
DeLa Salle, whose enthusiastic composition was al- 
most melting with the eagerness of adventure. Upon 
his arrival at Quebec, he conceived the project of estab- 
lishing a line of posts from Canada, through the Illinois 
country, and down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexi- 
co. Securing the approbation and influence of Fron- 
tinac, then the Governor-General of Canada, he re- 
turned to France, and laid the plans of his enterprise 
before Col vert, the King's minister. Meeting a fa- 
vorable consideration from the King, he was created 
a Chevalier, and received a commission to return and 
rebuild Fort Frontinac. Upon the reconstruction of 
the Fort he labored with indefatigable zeal until the 
Autumn of 1677, when he sailed again to France. 

Having fulfilled his mission to the satisfaction of the 
King, he received an outfit for a voyage, and brought 
with him thirty-four emigrants to the New World, 
among whom was Lieutenant M. Tonti, an Italian, who 
became the devoted friend and faithful follower of La 
Salle in all his expeditions and enterprises. During the 
next five years he traveled the wilderness almost con- 
stantly, around the Lakes, and from St. Anthony's Falls 
to the mouth of the Mississippi, encountering difficul- 
ties, perils and privations almost beyond human endur- 
ance. In the autumn of 1683, he sailed a third time for 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 11 

France. The energetic industry he had displayed in 
prosecuting his adventurous exploits, secured for him the 
cordial approbation of the King, who placed under his 
direction a fleet of four vessels, carrying two hundred 
and eighty emigrants for settlement in the wild country 
which he had been exploring. It was the intention of 
La Salle to make the mouth of the Mississippi river; 
but, dissensions of a most discordant and disasti*ous 
character arising between him and M. De Beaugetj, 
the marine commander, the fleet drifted slowly and 
sluggishly across the ocean, and finally, after a voyage 
of six month's duration, they reached Madagarda Bay, 
in Texas, having drifted southward of the Mississippi. 
After exploring the coast for a few months, the com- 
mander left La Salle and his party to search alone for 
the "hidden river," and returned with the fleet to 
France. With hope and courage such as few men ever 
possessed, did La Salle continue to search for the mouth 
of the Mississippi, by which he wished to return to 
Canada. Disappointmenfmet him in every expedition ; 
but his spirit was a stranger to despair, and he contin- 
ued to traverse the marshy country along the Gulf 
coast, until his followers, less courageous than himself, 
and dying from fatigue and fever, became dispirited 
and sullenly refused to obey him. Mutiny arose, which 
alone would have disappointed the object of the search; 
but fate had decreed a more tragic termination to the 
Chevalier's exploits. He was way-laid and shot dead 
by one of the chief conspirators. 

During the two years which La Salle had been ab- 
sent, his lieutenant, Tonti, who had been left in com- 
mand of the Illinois country, was engaged in explora- 
tions, and building forts. The long absence of La 
Salle, from whom he could get no intelligence, was a 



12 HISTORICAL SKETCHES. 

source of melancholy speculation for Tonti. Finally, 
hearing a rumor that La Salle was in the West Indies, 
he organized an expedition, and descended the Missis- 
sippi in search of him; but, on reaching the mouth, he 
was compelled to return without any tidings of his long 
lost friend. In making this voyage he established sev- 
eral trading posts, and the weight of authority estab- 
lishes the opinion that Kaskaskia was one of them. 
The presumption, therefore, is irresistable, that M. 
Tonti was the first white man whose foot pressed the 
soil on which Kaskaskia was afterward built. As it 
became a permanent settlement, its existence may date 
from that period — 1686. 

Father Allous, a companion of La Salle, and a de- 
voted christian missionary, came to Kaskaskia soon 
after the visit of Tonti, and established a missionary 
station. He was probably the first white man who 
made a permanent residence in Kaskaskia. In a short 
time afterwards the French traders made their advent 
into the place, and then commenced the transition from 
an Indian to a French village. This transition, how- 
ever, was rather slow for several years, as the French 
who came at that time were chiefly traders, whose avo- 
cation required them to be transient rather than per- 
manent inhabitants. Probably Kaskaskia could not be 
considered anything more than a trading post and 
mission station, before the year 1712. The mission be- 
came a very flourishing one soon after it was estab- 
lished by Father Allous. In 1690, Father Gravier 
took charge of the station, and christened it '-The 
Village of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy 
Yirgin." A chapel was erected, probably on the east- 
ern side of the Kaskaskia river, near the residence of 
Mr. Menard, the remains of which are still ? to be seen. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 13 

The ruins of another Jesuit chapel, erected just in the 
rear of the present church edifice, are also visible, but 
at what time it was built is now unknown. A Jesuit 
register, commencing in 1695, has been preserved, and 
is now among the church papers of the parish. At 
what particular period the first permanent settlers came 
to Kaskaskia, and who they were, is a matter more of 
conjecture than certainty; no record of them having 
been preserved. It is known, however, that previous 
to the year 1720, a considerable emigration had arrived 
from Canada and France, by the way of New Orleans, 
and made permanent settlements. As to the names of 
these pioneers, there is also an uncertainty, but the 
most authentic traditions which the writer has been 
able to gather, coroborates the well established belief 
among the present inhabitants of Kaskaskia, that the 
following were among the principal ones of those early 
settlers, viz : Bazyl La Chapelle, Michael Derouse, 
(called St. Pierre,) Jean Baptiste St. Gemme Beau- 
vais, Baptiste Montreal, Boucher De Montbrun, 
Charles Danie, Francois Charlesville, Antoine 
Bienvenu, Louis Buyat, Alexis Doza, Joseph Paget, 
Prix Pagi, Michael Antoyen, Langlois De Lisle, 
La Derroutte, Noval, and some few others. 

Bazyl La Chappelle was among the first from Can- 
ada, and came to Kaskaskia in company with eleven 
brothers, but he alone of the number remained perma- 
nently. He left four sons — Antoine, Louis, La Chap- 
elle and Baptiste, from whom descended the family 
bearing that name; Louis La Chapelle, now living 
about two miles south of the village, is the son of Bap- 
tiste. 

Michael Derouse came also from Canada, and was 
the progenitor of the numerous family of that name 



14 HISTORICAL SKETCHES. 

now living in and around Kaskaskia. This is the most 
numerous of any descendency of the original settlers. 
He was the father of Michael, Joseph, Phillip, 
Jerome, Be Bardeau, who became prominent and in- 
fluential men in the community. Pierre Derouse, now 
living in the vicinity of Kaskaskia, at the age of 60 
years, is a son of Joseph. 

[It is proper to explain that the names by which many 
of the French are known are those of the names of the 
places from whence they came. For instance, " Beau- 
Vais" was affixed to the name "St. Gemme" because 
that family came from the city of Beauvais in France. 
In many instances the real name has been lost, and that 
of the town from which the person came substituted. 
The Derouse family came originally from St. Pierre, in 
France, which accounts for that affix to their name. 
The right name of the Montreal family, is now un- 
known. The first of the name who came to Canada, 
were called "Montrois," because they came from 
Montrois, and after they came to Kaskaskia, they re- 
ceived the name of Montreal, for the reason that they 
came from Montreal, in Canada. The St. Gemme family 
dropped the affix "Beauvais" after they came to Kas- 
kaskia, and are now known by the original name. 
Some of the descendants residing in St. Genivieve, Mo., 
are now writing the name "St. James."] 

Jean Baptiste St. Gemme was the first of that 
family who located in Kaskaskia. He was a man of 
some wealth and became a conspicuous constituent of 
the place. He lived to a very old age, and died leav- 
ing six sons; Raphael, Antoine, Charles, Joseph, 
Vitol, and Baptiste, and two daughters, one of 
whom married De Ruisseau, and is the grandmother 
of Mrs. J. H. Lucas, of St. Louis. Joseph, the third 
eon, died in early life, and was buried in Kaskaskia, by 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 15 

the side of his father and mother; Raphael became a 
citizen of New Orleans, and died there; Charles died 
somewhere in Louisiana; Antoine moved to Arkansas 
where he died, at an advanced age. Vitol and Bap- 
tists were among the first French settlers of St. Gen- 
evieve, Mo., and died in that place, leaving large fami- 
lies, some of whom are yet living; Mrs. Jarrot, of St- 
Louis, now eighty years old, is the daughter of Vitol 
St. Gemme. Baptiste had fourteen children, three of 
whom are yet living, viz : Augustus St. Gem me, aged 
68 years; Eleanor, aged 66; and Julia, aged 76. 

Raphael St. Gemme first located at Fort Du Quesne, 
and took part in the defense of the Fort, an interesting 
account of which will be found in Sparks'. He also 
aided in the celebrated defeat of Gen. Braddockou the 
9th of July, 1755. He afterwards came to Kaskaskia 
and located permanently. His family consisted of one 
son, Alexis, and five daughters. Alexis St. Gemme 
was the grandfather of Mrs. Maxwell, now residing 
in Kaskaskia. 

Baptiste Montreal came from Canada, and was 
noted for his industry and quiet deportment. From 
him sprang the numerous family bearing his name. 
One of his grandsons died a few months ago, aged 
seventy-seven years. 

Boucher de Montbrun was a man of sprightly ac- 
tivity, and became very prominent in Kaskaskia. He 
married a Miss Langlois, a lady of much beauty and 
respectability. Some of his descendants are now to be 
found in that country. 

Charles Danie devoted his life to the quiet pursuit 
of farming. The oldest land grant on record that we 
have been able to discover, was made to Charles 
Danie, on the 10th day of May, 1722. His descendants 



16 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

became very numerous at one time, but now only a few 
of them remain. 

Francois Charlesville came among the first from 
Canada, and engaged in trading down the river to New 
Orleans. He was a man of remarkable shrewdness and 
energy, and amassed considerable wealth. Charles- 
ville left four sons — Francois, Baptiste, Charles, 
and Louis. Andrew Charlesville, now living in the 
Point, about 70 years old, is the son of Francois, and 
grandson of the first Francois. 

Axtoine Bienvenu came from New Orleans, and 
brought with him considerable wealth. He lived for 
the sole object of enjoying life, and probably no man 
ever received a larger share of life's ephemeral joys. 
He left three sons, Antoine, Henry, and Michael, all 
of whom lived and died in Kaskaskia. Some of their 
children are yet living about the village. 

Louis Buyat came direct from France to Kaskaskia . 
He belonged to a family of some rank, and on his arri- 
val in Kaskaskia, he took a leading position among the 
people. The bell which hangs by the church, whose 
mellow tones were the first ever heard in the Missis- 
sippi Valley, and which has announced the hour of 
worship for more than a hundred years, was sent as a 
present to Mr. Buyat to be given by him to the infant 
church of America. His name is intimately connected 
with the church and the town. From him sprang a 
numerous descendency, Louis Buyat, the first son 
of the pioneer, was the father of Louis, Michael, 
Nicholas, Henry, and Joseph, who became prominent 
men among the people. Joseph the youngest son is 
still living, and is now one of the oldest men to be 
found about Kaskaskia. The family is less numerous 
now than formerly. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 17 

Alexis Doza was from Canada, and possessed a re- 
markable energy and courage. His son, named also 
Alexis, became one of the most distinguished charac- 
ters of Kaskaskia. He was fearless of danger, adven - 
turous, energetic, and possessed a degree of hardihood 
and endurance which rarely falls to the lot of man. It 
is related of him that he would start from Kaskaskia at 
any hour, whether night or day, and make the trip to 
Vincennes, on foot and alone, in three days. He became 
a carrier of dispatches between the two posts, and 
would travel across the country when it was extremely 
dangerous for any white man to be found outside the vil- 
lages. Some of his descendants are yet living about 
Kaskaskia. 

Joseph Paget was probably the father of Prix 
Pagi, (although there is a difference in the orthography 
of the names). Prix Pagi erected a mill on the site 
where Mr. Daniel Eeily's mill stands. He was mur- 
dered in the mill by the Indians. 

Of Michael Autyen, De Lisle, La Deroutte, and 
Noval, we have been unable to learn anything beyond 
the fact, that they were among the earliest pioneers, 
and occupied conspicuous positions in the village. 

Mr. Langlois located and lived in Kaskaskia, until 
the year 1736, when he joined the expedition under 
D'Artaguette (then Governor of Illinois,) and Vin- 
cennes, against the Chickasaw Indians, and with them 
was taken prisoner and burned at the stake. Some 
of his descendants are now living about Prairie Du 
Rocher. 

Though these pioneers in the western world were 

surrounded by a wilderness, inhabited only by Indians 

and wild beasts, with no communication with civilized 

man, except through tedious voyages of the traders 

*2 



18 Historical sketches 

to New Orleans, and the occasional visits to and from the 
villages of Cahokia and Yincennes, yet no people prob- 
ably ever enjoyed life better than they did. They were 
frank, open-hearted, brotherly, unambitious, careless 
of the acquisition of property, contented and joy- 
ous. Bringing with them the gayeties and vivacity 
of Paris life, they indulged in every variety of social 
amusement, and enjoyed more of life's pleasures than is 
usually allotted to pioneers. Destitute of a pretext for 
that strife, contention and bickering which a desire for 
wealth never fails to create, they lived in peaceful har- 
mony, and culled from each passing hour the larger 
share of its moments for enjoyment. Their wealth, 
their time and labor, were matters of indifference. — 
With a superabundance of wheat and corn, which they 
reaped from the soil with but little cultivation, and 
being supplied by the Indians with plenty of venison 
and bear meat, they realized no cares or anxiety, and 
were contented and happy. If the unalloyed happi- 
ness of temporal life has ever been enjoyed, it was cer- 
tainly approached by those early pioneers of Kaskaskia. 
They introduced the French system of agricul- 
ture, and each family had a parcel of land in the 
"Common Field." A strict community system was 
observed, and if the head of a family was sick or nec- 
essarily absent, his crop was attended to by his neigh- 
bors. Ordinances were made regulating the repairs of 
fences, time of gathering crops, and opening the field 
for the range of stock, in the fall. Each plat of land in 
the Common Field was distinctly marked out and 
owned in fee simple by the person to whom granted , 
It was a universal custom among the villagers, when 
the husband returned in the evening, weary from his 
daily toils, for his affectionate wife and children to meet 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 19 

him with a kiss. This domestic interview was at the 
gate of the door-yard, in full view of the village. It 
was an evidence of the happiness that reigned within. 



THE CHURCH- 

At what time the first parish priest appeared 
among the people of Kaskaskia, is now unknown j nei- 
ther can it be ascertained when the first parish church 
was built. It is certain, however, that the parish 
congregation occupied the Jesuit chapel until about the 
year 1721, when the old building which stood for half 
a century was erected. This was the first permanent 
church built west of the Alleghany Mountains, upon 
this continent. The bell which now hangs by the 
spacious brick church in Kaskaskia, was brought from 
France and placed upon this old building, and was the 
first bell to ring out the tidings of christian worship in 
the Mississippi valley. Its measured strokes have 
tolled at the burial of three generations, and still the 
towering forest trees and hill sides in the vicinity echo 
its musical pealing. The church record, now among 
the archives of the church, reaches back only to the 
year 1721 — the previous record, if there was any kept, 
having been lost. At that time Father Gibault was 
the officiating priest. He resided at Prairie du Eocher, 
and was priest of that parish. He performed the duties 
pertaining to his holy office, for both these parishes, for 
many years, and died deeply lamented by the people, 
for whose spiritual good he had lived and labored. He 
lived a truly christain life, and so deported himself 
as to show that he was at peace with his God, and his 



20 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

fellow men. He was always cheerful, and carried with 
him a smile and pleasant word for every one he met. 
The church to which reference has been made, stood 
until about the year 1780, when another was erected 
near the same spot, which gave place to the present 
large brick edifice about twenty years ago. It is one 
of the largest churches in Illinois. Father Perren is 
now the officiating priest, and though he has attained 
the age of sixty, he is able to read the ancient church 
record, which is imperfect French manuscript, without 
the aid of glasses. 



GOVERNMENT. 

In the year 1708, the French Government sent out 
D'Artaguette as commissary of Louisiana, with in- 
structions to put in operation a system of government. 

He made some progress towards the object of his 
mission, but owing to the remote distances of the set- 
tlements from each other, he could do but little. In 
1712, the French Government, believing the object could 
be best attained through private enterprise, conferred 
upon a wealthy merchant of Paris, named Crozat, the 
monopoly of Louisiana for fifteen years, expecting that 
his commercial operations would be an inducement to 
a speedy colonization of the country. The nucleus of 
his operations was in Louisiana, but his trading posts 
extended throughout the Mississippi valley. A post 
established at Kaskaskia, was the means of creating a 
lively trade in deer, buffalo, and bear meat, which were 
purchased for transportation to New Orleans and Mo- 
bile. This also stimulated the erection of Mills for the 
manufacture of flour, to be shipped to the same market 1 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 21 

Traces of these mills may be seen to this day, along the 
bluffs which skirt the cultivated lands, and the remains 
of a wind-mill were visible a few years ago, in the prairie 
between Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher. The re- 
mains of a mill are yet to be seen on the eastern side 
of the river, near the residence of Mr. Menard. It was 
probably at this time that a mill was erected upon the 
same site where Mr. Riley's mill now stands. 

Crozat was succeeded, in 1717, by the "Company of 
the West," organized in Paris, to cooperate with a crazy 
Scotchman, John Law, in a wild banking and stock- 
jobbing scheme, and invested in fee simple to the public 
lands. From this source the villages and individuals 
obtained grants and titles to such quantities of the 
public domain as they wanted. This company was 
merged into the " Royal Company of fche Indies/' in 
1719, and thereafter transacted business under that 
name. M. Boisbriant, the representative of the crown* 
and commissary of the Company, and De Ursins, were 
stationed at Fort Chartres for the purpose of conveying 
lands to the settlers. A series of articles were enacted 
in 1721, by a council deputed by the King of France, 
for the government of the Royal Company. Under 
these regulations the company prospered, and agricul- 
ture, commerce and population increased rapidly. — 
Here a little pebble of civilization had been dropped 
into the centre of the wild ocean of savage life, and the 
circling ripple was well started, and beginning to widen 
out. 

Through the agency of this Company, horses, cattle, 
hogs and chickens were introduced. Cattle were 
brought from Canada, and were almost universally 
black. Horses were brought from the Spanish posses- 
sions in the south. They were of the Arabian stock, 



22 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

having been introduced into Spain by the Moors, and 
brought to America by the Spaniards. The celebrated 
French, or "Point Ponies/' have descended from this 
stock. The "Company of St. Phillips" — a branch of 
the Eoyal Company, was organized in 1719, in Paris, 
and Philip Francois Renault was appointed the 
principal agent. He expected to engage in mining, 
and brought with him about two hundred miners, me- 
chanics and laborers. He stopped in the West Indies 
and bought five hundred negro slaves, and arrived in 
Illinois with ample means for prosecuting the business 
of the Company. This was the origin of the "French 
slaves" in Illinois, whose numerous descendants can now 
be found in Kaskaskia, St. Genivieve, St. Louis and 
many other places. 

The charter of the Royal Company was surrendered 
in 1732, and the country reverted back again to the Gov. 
ernment of France. M. D'Artaguette was appointed 
Governor of Illinois. Under his administration the 
French settlements enjoyed their palmiest days. He 
became a very popular man, and was known from 
Louisiana to Canada. He gave his personal attention 
and energies to every enterprise whose object was to 
benefit the people of his province. 

In 1736, when the French Government decided upon 
an expedition against the Chickasaw Indians, he col- 
lected all the military force he could muster in the 
Illinois and Wabash country, which consisted of a few 
regulars who had been stationed at Fort Chartres, a 
few companies of volunteer militia, and about one 
thousand redskins, whom he had induced to join his 
army bj T his own personal influence among them. He 
descended the Mississippi to the lower Chickasaw Bluffs, 
and then crossed the country to the sources of the Tal- 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 23 

lahatchie river, where, by appointment, he was to meet 
Bienville, with the troops from Louisiana. Bien- 
ville failed to come at the appointed time, and not 
being able to restrain the undisciplined Indians, D'Ar- 
taguette was forced to attack the enemy against his 
own judgment. His little army was forced to N retreat, 
and he and the gallant Vincennes, and some others 
were taken prisoners and were burned at the stake. 
Never did Indian fires crackle the sinews of braver and 
nobler men. La Buissonierre was appointed the suc- 
cessor of D'Artaguette, and administered the govern- 
ment until the year 1751. During this period the 
whole country enjoyed a profound peace. Happiness 
and prosperity smiled upon the settlements. The Indians 
throughout the whole length and breadth of the valley 
were at peace, and the commercial intercourse between 
the Southern and Northern posts, which had been inter- 
rupted by the Ohickasaws, was again resumed. Cheva- 
lier McCarty succeeded to the Governorship in 1751, 
and continued to hold the position until a short time 
before the country passed into the possession of the 
English, in 1763. M. St. Ange de Belle Eive was the 
last of the French Governors for the Illinois country. 
On the arrival of Capt. Stirling, of the Royal High- 
landers, in 1765, Governor Eive retired to St. Louis. 
Capt. Stirling died at Fort Chartres a short time after 
his arrival, and was succeeded first by Major Frazier, 
and soon after by Col. Reed, who become notorious for 
his military oppressions. His career, however, was 
short, as he was succeeded in 1768 by Col. Wilkins, 
who, by the authority of Gen. Gage, then Commander 
of the British army in America, established a court of 
justice. He appointed seven judges who held court at 
Fort Chartres, commencing on the 6th of December, 



24 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

1768. This was the first court of common law juris- 
diction ever held in the Mississippi valley. In 1772, 
the seat of government was moved from Fort Chartres 
to Fort Gage. The British garrison which had been 
stationed at Fort Chartres, under the command of the 
Governor, removed and occupied the Fort. This Fort 
became the seat of Government, and was occupied for 
that purpose as long as the English retained possession 
of the country. M. Eocheblave, a Frenchman, was 
commandant at the time the Fort was surrendered to 
Col. Clark, 1778. 



CLARK'S EXPEDITION. 

The people of Kaskaskia and the West took but little 
part in the American Eevolution, during the first years 
of its existence. .Remotely situated from the theatre 
of war, and menaced by no invading army, they quietly 
pursued their ordinary avocations, giving themselves 
but little concern about affairs on the Atlantic coast. 
Indeed, they knew but little of what was going on, for 
the means of obtaining news was scarcely sufficient to 
give them a correct idea of the cause of the war. A 
small garrison of British soldiers occupied Fort Gage, 
and passed the time in listless inactivity. 

In 1778, Col. George Eogers Clark, acting under 
instructions of Patrick Henry, then Governor of Vir- 
ginia, collected four companies of volunteers in the 
neighborhood of the "Ohio Falls" and "Corn Island/' 
and set out on an expedition to take Kaskaskia. This 
little army, numbering one hundred and fifty-three 
men, descended the Ohio river to Fort Massacre, below 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 25 

the month of the Tennessee, where they landed and 
commenced their march across the wilderness. 

On the banks of the Ohio they found a party of hunt- 
ers from Kaskaskia, from whom they obtained impor- 
tant information about the state of affairs there. Clark 
secured John Saunders, one of the hunting party, to 
conduct the army across the country. The distance 
was one hundred and twenty miles. Beaching the 
vicinity of the Fort on the eastern side of the river, 
Clark concealed his men until nightfall, and sent out 
spies to reconnoitre and report. After dark he took pos- 
session of the old ferry house, three-quarters of a mile 
above the village. Here he divided his army into three 
parties; two were to cross the river and attack the town 
upon two points, while the third was to capture the 
Fort. The British had instilled into the minds of the 
French that the " Long-Knives " — as they called the 
Virginians — were the most terrible monsters in the 
world. Clark used this impression to a good purpose 
in this attack. He directed that the divisions crossing 
the river should enter the town from two opposite 
extremes, and as they came in they should frighten the 
quietly slumbering people into a surrender. These 
divisions were under the command of the intrepid Cap- 
tain Helm, and when they entered the town, and were 
well distributed through it, they set up such a terrific 
yelling and shouting as frightened the unsuspecting 
people into the thought that the whole savage race of 
"Long-Knives" had broken loose upon them. Never 
did such a hideous, terrifying noise proceed from 
human beings as those Virginians kept up until the 
dawn of day. The terrified people were told if they 
remained in their houses they would not be hurt, but 
if they came out, or made any resistance, they would 



26 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

be killed in the most barbarous manner. They sur- 
rendered their guns and every means of defense, and 
seemed willing to accede to any demand which the 
invaders should make. Never were people more effect- 
ually frightened. They believed that they were sur- 
rounded by a number of these monsters sufficient to 
exterminate the whole village in half an hour. 

When morning came, the people were not less terri- 
fied at the appearance of the "Long-Knives," than they 
had been at their furious noise. 

While the tumultuous uproar of taking Kaskaskia 
was going on, Clark, at the head of the third division 
of his little army, was quietly possessing himself of 
Fort Gage. The Fort was well guarded with regular 
soldiers, and cannon. Clark had no cannon or any 
means whatever, of assaulting the Fort. It became 
necessary, therefore, to resort to stratagem. By ac- 
cident, an American in the Fort, whose sympathies 
were with the American cause, met Capt. Kenton, who 
was leading the detachment to enter the Fort. This 
American conducted Kenton and his men in by a back 
gate. They found a light burning, but all within were 
sleeping soundly. Governor Eocheblave had no in- 
timation of what was going on until awakened by Capt. 
Kenton to be informed that he was a prisoner. 

The annals of romance furnish nothing more singular 
than this achievement. The origin of the expedition, 
the journey — with its perils and hardships, the manner 
of the attack, and the success, possessed the air of 
fiction. 

With the Fort in his possession, which commanded 
Kaskaskia, Clark had the means of enforcing any 
mandate he might issue. The people were in his power 
and regarded him with mistrustful awe. The day after 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 27 

the conquest, Clark organized a temporal*}' military 
government, and put some suspected persons in prison. 
Governor Eociieblave was refractory, and Clark put 
him in irons and sent him in charge of Capt. Mont- 
gomery to Williamsburg, then the capital of Virginia. 

The people, fearfully excited, and seeing these pro- 
ceedings, concluded that some terrible doom awaited 
them. Clark designedly remained silent, and appeared 
to be meditating some mode of awful torture to inflict 
upon the people. On the third day, M. Gibault, the 
priest, and some others, came to Clark and asked that 
they might have permission to assemble in the church 
once more before they were destroyed, and bid each 
other a last farewell. 

Clark replied, in a very careless manner, that he 
cared but little how they took their final separation — 
that they could go to the church if they wished. He 
looked destruction, and his words, which were few, 
scorched as if they proceeded from out a fiery furnace. 

The whole population assembled in the church, 
mournfully chanted their prayers, and took final leave 
— never expecting to meet each other again in this 
world. After their parting interview was over — which 
must have been a scene to melt the savasre hearts of the 
imaginary " Long-Knives" — Clark, regarding the ob- 
ject of his artful maneuver fully accomplished, called 
them together, and thus addressed them : 

" Who do you take us to be ? Do you think we are 
savages — that we intend to massacre you ? Do you 
think Americans will strip women and children, and 
take the bread out of their mouths ? My countrymen 
never make war upon the innocent. It was to protect 
our own wives and children that we have penetrated 
this wilderness to subdue these British posts, from 



28 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

whence the savages are supplied with arms and ammu- 
nition to murder us. We do not war against French- 
men. The King of France, your former master, is our 
ally. His ships and soldiers are fighting for the Amer- 
icans. The French are our friends. Go and enjoy your 
religion, and worship where you please. Retain your 
property — and now please to inform all your citizens 
for me that they are quite at liberty to conduct them- 
selves as usual, and dismiss all apprehensions of alarm. 
We are your friends, and came to deliver you from the 
British." 

This speech relieved the pressure of anxiety which 
had weighed so heavily upon them, and a revulsion of 
the most uproarious joy prevailed throughout the town. 
To the people it seemed a deliverance from horrible 
tortures and death. They cheerfully and gladly ac- 
knowledged Clark the Commandant of the country. 

In the winter following, Col. Clark received infor- 
mation that Gov. Hamilton, commanding the British 
forces at Yincennes, had determined to re-capture Kas- 
kaskia. At first Clark decided to defend, and com- 
menced preparing Fort Gage for the siege, but upon 
mature reflection he resolved to invade Vincennes and 
take Hamilton, lest Hamilton should invade Kaskas- 
kia and take him. He reinforced the remnant of his 
army still remaining, by a volunteer company of 
Frenchmen from Kaskaskia, under Capt. Charles- 
ville, and another from Cahokia, commanded by Capt. 
McCarty, and on the 7th of February, 1779, this heroic 
band, with the brave and sagacious Clark at its head, 
commenced the perilous march on the " Old Yincennes 
trace" to Fort Sackville. A boat had been dispatched 
around by the Ohio river, carrying two four-pound can- 
non, four swivels, and a quantity of provisions. Capt. 



OP RANDOLPH COUNTY. 29 

John Rogers, with forty-six men, was entrusted with 
this boat, and instructed to meet the army near Vin- 
cennes. When Clark approached the village, he sent 
a note to the inhabitants informing them of his arrival, 
and the object of his coming. To make the people 
think that he had a formidable army, he sent in the 
names of various gentlemen in Kentucky, to their ac- 
quaintances in Yincennes, which made them believe 
that nearly all Kentucky was in the field. He prac- 
ticed this delusion upon the troops in the garrison, as 
well as upon the people of the town, by marching his 
army several times around a mound in the prairie, 
changing the colors of the flag every time he came 
around on the side of the mound next the Fort. These 
several divisions of a fine Kentucky army, carefully 
watched and counted by the soldiers in the Fort, had a 
dampening effect upon red-coat bravery. The assault 
on the Fort was made on the evening of the 23d. On 
the morning of the 24th, Clark, moved apparently by 
an amiable desire to prevent further bloodshed, sent in 
a note ordering Gov. Hamilton to surrender the gar- 
rison immediately. 

The Governor refused to comply with this peremp- 
tory order, and Clark renewed the attack with all the 
force and fury he could summon. An incessant fire of 
eighteen hours brought forth a note from Hamilton, 
requesting a truce for three days, and an interview with 
Col. Clark. To this note Clark briefly replied, posi- 
tively refusing to grant the truce, but very carelessly 
remarked that if Hamilton wished to talk with him, 
he could be found at the church. Hamilton sought 
the interview, which gave Clark to understand that 
the Governor was becoming concerned about his situa- 
tion. Clark was powerfully courageous. He would 



SO HISTORICAL SKETCHES. 

listen to nothing but an immediate surrender of the 
garrison at discretion. Hamilton yielded, and on the 
25th, the Fort, with all its stores, amounting in value 
to more than fifty thousand dollars, was surrendered. 
Seventy-nine prisoners were paroled, and went to De- 
troit. Governor Hamilton was sent under a strong 
escort to the capital of Virginia. 

This reference to the taking of Vincennes diverges 
somewhat beyond the limits of these sketches, but it 
appeared necessary as a connecting link in the chain of 
events of which Kaskaskia was the prolific source, and 
to show more fully the operations and character of 
Col. Clark, than whom no man was better fitted for 
the conquest of Illinois. High upon the scroll of fame 
should be registered, in enduring characters, the name 
of George Eogers Clark. Upon the summit of Gar- 
rison Hill, amidst the remaining ruins of Fort Gage, 
Illinois should do honor to a gallant soldier and pure 
patriot, by the erection of a monument to his memory. 



ILLINOIS BELONGED TO VIRGINIA. 

Col. Clark had now effectually conquered the Illi- 
nois country, and driven the British from it. Illinois 
then embraced the territory out of which have been 
formed the States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wiscon- 
sin, and Illinois. This territory was claimed by Vir- 
ginia, and, as a matter of course, it fell under her juris- 
diction. In October, 1778, the House of Burgesses 
created "Illinois County" — which included the whole 
district on the " Western side of the Ohio river." Col. 
John Todd, of Kentucky, was appointed by Patrick 
Henry, the Governor of Virginia, Lieutenant Gov- 



OP RANDOLPH COUNTY. 31 

ernor, or County Lieutenant, and Civil Commandant of 
"Illinois County/' He arrived at Kaskaskia on the 
15th of June, 1779, and proceeded immediately to put 
in operation a civil government, by establishing courts 
and appointing officers. He administered the executive 
trust of Illinois County until the year 1782. In that 
year he went to Virginia, on business pertaining to the 
county. On his return through Kentucky, finding 
his old companions, Colonels Daniel Boone, Logan, 
Cooper, Major McGary, and others, by whose side he 
had stood in many a skirmish with Indians — going to 
fight their troublesome enemies again, he could not resist 
the temptation of joining them. But the romance of an 
Indian war became a sad reality with him. He was 
killed in the celebrated battle of Blue Licks. 

The successor of Col. Todd was Timothy de Mont- 
brun, a Frenchman. His name is attached to deeds of 
conveyance and other public papers, now among the 
archives of Eandolph County. 



THE NOKTH-WE8T TJEHRITOTIY. 

Virginia ceded the North- West Territory to the Con- 
tinental Congress in 1784, but the bill organizing the 
Territory did not pass until 1787. General Artiicr 
St. Clair, of Pennsylvania, who had borne a conspic- 
uous part in the revolution, and filled many civil offices, 
was appointed Governor of the newly organized Ter- 
ritory. Winthrop Sargeant was appointed Secre- 
tary, and Parsons, Barnum, and Symmes, United States 
Judges. 

Though these Territorial officers were appointed in 
1787, they did not reach Kaskaskia until the year 1790. 



32 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Upon the arrival of the Governor and Secretary, the 
county of St. Clair was organized — the boundary line 
commencing at the mouth of Mackinaw creek, on the 
Illinois river, and running in a direct course to the Ohio; 
thence down that river to its mouth, and up the Mis- 
sissippi and Illinois rivers to the place of beginning. 
A Court of Common Pleas was established, and John 
Edgar, of Kaskaskia, John Baptiste Barbeau, of 
Prairie Du Eocher, and John de Moulin, of Cahokia, 
were appointed Judges, each of whom held courts in the 
district of his residence — the county being divided into 
three judicial districts. William St. Clair was ap- 
pointed Clerk, and Eecorder of Deeds, and William 
Biggs, Sheriff. Thus the machinery of government was 
set in motion, and continued without interruption until 
1795, when Eandolph County was stricken off from St. 
Clair, and organized. As a sketch of the county will 
be given, further reference to it will be omitted here. 
To preserve the chronological order designed in these 
sketches, it becomes necessary here to refer to the first 
English settlers in Kaskaskia. 



ENGLISH SETTLERS IN KASKASKIA. 

At this period Kaskaskia was the most important 
place west of the Alleghany Mountains, and was the 
point to which all emigrants to the wilderness Territory 
directed their course. After reaching Kaskaskia, they 
would explore the adjacent country and select loca- 
tions. Some of these, to whom we shall refer, remained 
in Kaskaskia only a short time. 

Some of the soldiers under Col. Clark remained in 
the country, or returned to the States and brought 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 38 

their families and other emigrants to the newly con- 
quered Territory. Among these pioneers were John 
Dayle, James Piggat, Eobert Whitehead, Bowen, 
Wm. Biggs, James Moore, Shadrack Bond, Eobert 
Kidd, Luke Eutherford, and James Garrison. This 
band of brave pioneers who opened the way for that 
influx of emigration which has peopled the West, reached 
Kaskaskia in the year 1781. Dayle, Piggat, Bowen, 
Biggs, Kidd, Eutherford, and Whitehead, were sol- 
diers, accustomed to the privations of pioneer life and 
travel. They had pursuaded the others to come with 
them to the wilderness country, and make their home 
upon the rich soil and amidst the deepened forest of 
Illinois. 

Dayle located permanently in Kaskaskia, and being 
a man of some education, he taught school — whether 
English or French is now a matter of conjecture. He 
understood both languages. Nearly all of the others 
were farmers, and settled in the bottom above Kas- 
kaskia. This was the first settlement of the Americans 
in the country, and from the fact of their settling 
here, the name " American Bottom" has been applied 
to that large extent of alluvial land along the Mis- 
sissippi, reaching from Alton to Chester — a distance 
of about one hundred miles. 

About the same time, a Mr. Huff, with his family, 
and a few others, left Pennsylvania, and started for 
Illinois. Huff had married the widow Mooredock, 
who had three sons along with the party. While as- 
cending the Mississippi, near the Grand Tower, the 
party were attacked by Indians, and Mrs. Huff, one of 
her sons, and some others of the part;,, were killed. 
Mrs. Huff was butchered in a shocking manner. The 
remnant of the party reached Kaskaskia, and settled in 



34 HISTORICAL SKETCH KS 

the American Bottom. A few years afterwards, Mr. 
Huff was killed by the Indians, on the road between 
Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher. John Mooredock, 
(the stepson of Huff,) whose name figures conspicu- 
ously in the early events of Illinois, harbored a spirit 
of unrelenting revenge against the Indians for injuries 
he had received in the horrible death of his mother — 
the death of two stepfathers, and the death of a 
brother. The destruction to Indian life was his ruling 
passion, and he sought it at all times, w T hether in peace 
or war. He was the most deadly foe that ever ap- 
peared against the Indians of Illinois. He was fore- 
most in every Indian campaign. His name was a ter- 
ror to his savage enemies. But notwithstanding the 
destructive vengeance that burned in his bosom for 
savage blood in retaliation of injuries received, in the civil 
walks of life he was kind, benevolent, sociable and gay, 
and yielded willingly to the fascinations of agreeable 
society. He married a Miss Garrison — stepdaughter 
to Shadrack Bond, Sen. He was elected a member 
from St. Clair county to the Territorial Legislature, 
which convened at Yincennes in 1803, and served 
again in the Legislature at Kaskaskia, in 1814. He 
held the rank of Major in the militia, and was field 
officer under Governor Edwards, in the campaign of 
1812. 

About the year 1782, Ichabod and George Camp 
came to Kaskaskia, and resided for some time in the 
town. They afterwards made improvements west of 
the Kaskaskia river, not far from the residence of 
James O'Hara and Henry D. Simpson. Camp's 
Creek, which crosses the Kaskaskia and Red Bud road, 
between O'Hara' s and Simpson's, took its name 
from these men. They afterwards moved away, and 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 85 

located at "Camp's Spring/' in Missouri, a few miles 
west of St. Louis. 

John and Israel Dodge camp to Kaskaskia about 
the close of the Revolution. Israel Dodge was the 
father of Henry Dodge, late United States Senator 
from the State of Wisconsin. Hon. A. C. Dodge, Ex- 
United States Senator from Iowa, is the son of the 
Wisconsin Senator. 

The Dodge family left Kaskaskia in 1794, and went 
to St. Genivieve. They manufactured salt at the mouth 
of Saline Creek, a few miles below St. Genivieve. on the 
Mississippi. 

John Cook, Jacob Judy. William Music, James 
Piggat, and Eobert Sybald, came to Kaskaskia 
about the close of the year 1780. Judy remained in 
Kaskaskia a few years, and then located on the site of 
" Judy's Mill," in Monroe County. He erected this 
mill in the year 1794. It was the first water-mill of 
any kind built by the American settlers in that region. 
It did good service for many years. 

In 1784, John Edgar, from the British navy, reached 
Kaskaskia. The circumstances of his quitting the 
navy and seeking a home in this wild country, are of 
sufficient interest to be recorded. During the Kevolu- 
tion he was fighting against the Colonies in their strug- 
gle for Liberty and Independance. He had courted 
and married an American lady, whose sympathies, of 
course, were warm and deep for the American cause. 
She was a woman of extraordinary talent and shrewd- 
ness, and was the projector of many plans by which 
the soldiers in the British army, who became tired of 
fighting against the cause of freedom, made their es- 
cape and joined the Americans. On one occasion she 
had arranged with three soldiers to desert — she was to 



36 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

furnish them guns and uniform, and give them all nec- 
essary information to enable them to reach the Amer- 
ican camp. When they came she was absent, but her 
husband, although belonging to the British army, was 
her confidant in all her operations, and knowing the 
object for which these soldiers had come, furnished 
them with the outfit prepared for them by her. They 
unfortunately were apprehended, and taken back to the 
British camp. 

There they were made to reveal the names of those 
who had assisted them. This implicated Edgar, and 
he had to fly. He remained awhile in the American 
army, where he became the intimate friend of La Fay- 
ette, but deeming the West a safer retreat for one 
whose life was in such imminent jeopardy, he came to 
Kaskaskia. His property was confiscated, but his wife, 
with her remarkable sagacity, saved from the wreck 
about twelve thousand dollars, which she carefully hus- 
banded until she joined her husband, two years after- 
ward, in his western home. Mrs. Edgar's name merits 
a high rank among the heroines of Eevolutionary 
memory. 

Leaving the British service for the American cause, 
was a source of no regret with Gen. Edgar. He was 
an Irishman by birth, and the wrongs of England 
towards his native land had made their impress upon 
his patriotic mind. 

He engaged in business, and stimulated the com- 
merce of the country by his energy, enterprise and 
sagacity. He traded extensively in lands, and left, at 
his death, large tracts in Kandolph, Monroe, St. Clair, 
Madison, Clinton, Washington, Perry and Jackson 
counties, which are known to this day as the "Edgar 
Lands." He rebuilt the mill of M. Paget, (which had 



OP RANDOLPH COUNTY. 87 

passed into ruins,) and shipped bis flour to the southern 
markets. When St. Clair County was organized, in 
1790, he was appointed one of the judges of the Common 
Pleas Court, and his name appears upon t lie Court 
Records in 6ome official capacity for more than a quar- 
ter of a century. He was elected a member of the 
Legislature which convened at Chillicothe, Ohio, under 
Governor St. Clair's Administration. The United 
States appointed him Major General of the Illinois Mili- 
tia, which post he filled with dignified ability for a long 
series of years. 

John Rice Jones, a Welchman, located in Kayka.skia, 
in 1790, and commenced the practice of law. He was 
the first lawyer in Illinois who practiced at the bar. 
Nature intended him for an ornament, and her work 
was well performed. His career at the bar was brill- 
iant. He remained in Kaskaskia until 1802, when he 
moved to Vincennes. In the same year, he was ap- 
pointed a United States Judge of the Indiana. Territory. 
He afterwards moved to St. Louis, and finally to Wash- 
ington County, Missouri, and became one of the mosl 
conspicuous men in the early days of that State. He 
was a candidate, in opposition to Col. Benton, for the 
United States Senate, before the first General Assembly 
of Missouri, but was defeated. He was elected by the 
same Legislature one of the Judges of the Supreme 
Court of Missouri, which office he held until his death, 
in 1824. 

Rice Jones, the oldest son of .John Rice Jones, hav- 
ing acquired the profession of law in Connecticut, loca- 
ted in Kaskaskia in 1806, and commenced the practice 
with much success. He became conspicuous as a poli- 
tician. He had a difficulty with Governor Bond, 
growing out of political differences, which almost re- 
4 



38 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

suited in a duel. The preliminaries were arranged, 
and the parties were upon the ground, but Jones' pistol 
went off by accident, just before the word was given to 
lire, and Bond refused to fire at Jones. The matter 
between Jones and Bond was amicably adjusted, but a 
controversy grew out of it between Jones and Dunlap, 
Bond's second. This quarrel became bitter and malig- 
nant. One afternoon, as Jones was standing on the 
side of the street, leaning against the railing of a gal- 
lery, conversing with a lady, Dunlap approached and 
shot him dead. 

Hon. Gr. W. Jones, late United States Senator from 
the State of Iowa, is a younger brother of Eice, whose 
terrible death has just been narrated, and son of John 
liicE Jones. 

The same your, (1790,) Pierre, Hypolite, and Fran- 
cois Menard — three brothers — originally from Quebec, 
arrived in Kaskaskia. Pierre established a mercantile 
house, and opened a lucrative trade with the Indians. 
Endowed with rare business talent, a well balanced 
judgment, and an honest purpose, he rose rapidly to a 
high degree of eminence and distinction among the 
people of the AVest, and became the idol of the Indians. 
The Federal Government appointed him Indian Agent, 
which post he held for many years, and gave perfect 
satisfaction to both parties. No man ever enjoyed the 
confidence and esteem of the Indians more than he. 
They worshiped him ; and though he controlled them 
as a father does his children, he never took advantage 
of that confidence and simplicity to wrong them. Purity 
of intention and upright honesty marked the outlines of 
his character. In private life he was a model. Sym- 
pathy and benevolence were his ruling traits. From 
his commercial transactions he realized a fortune, which 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 39 

he cheerfully shared with the needy. No charitable 
call ever reached his ear without a ready response. 

He was often elected a member of the Legislature, and 
was speaker of the House in 1812. He was elected 
Lieutenant-Governor of the State, when it was admit- 
ted into the Federal Union. After the close of this 
term of office, he declined to accept public stations, and 
devoted himself to private affairs. He died in 1844, 
and was buried in a vault, prepared under his own 
supervision, in the old grave yard at Kaskaskia. 

He left three sons — Pierre, Ciprion and Edmund. 
The two former left the county many years ago. The 
latter lives upon his father's old place, on the eastern 
side of the Kaskaskia river. The oldest daughter of 
Col. Menard, Mrs. Maxwell, is yet living in Kaskaskia. 
She has spent her whole life in the village of her nativ- 
ity, and has occupied the house where she now resides 
for more than forty years. She has in her possession 
a Damask rose bush, which was brought from New 
Orleans more than a century ago. It is the first rose 
bush that ever bloomed in Illinois, and though it lias 
been swept over by the floods of the last hundred years, 
it still retains its vigor and bloom, putting forth its 
sprouts upon the animal recurrence of springtime. — 
Many an ardent lover has plucked a gem from its 
stately stock, to be presented to some loved one, to tes- 
tify of the heart's devotion. 

Francois Menard became a distinguished and suc- 
cessful navigator and trader upon the Mississippi. — 
With an energy that bent before no obstacle, and a 
courage that defied opposition, he prosecuted his peril- 
ous voyages upon the river for a long series of years. 
He died in Kaskaskia. 

Hypolite Menard engaged in farming. He was of 



40 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

a very lively and sociable disposition, and became very 
popular among the people. He represented Randolph 
County in the General Assembly one session. 

William Morrison was another of the distinguished 
characters who came to Kaskaskia in the year 1790. 
He came from Philadelphia, as the representative of the 
mercantile house of Bryant & Morrison, of that city 
and established a branch of the business in Kaskaskia. 
Under his sagacious management the transactions of 
the house rapidly extended throughout the Mississippi 
Valley. The field of his operations was vast, but the 
capacity of his mind was fully adequate to cover it. 
From his store in Kaskaskia, the merchants of St. 
Louis. St. Grenivieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid, 
supplied themselves with goods. 

But the mighty machinery of commerce which he 
managed, did not claim the exclusive control of his 
capacious mind. Home was never crowded out by the 
pressure of business. He found plenty of time to en- 
joy the affectionate society of his family. Sociable and 
fond of company, his house was the welcome resort of 
every visitor to Kaskaskia. 

Much of his time was devoted to public enterprise. 
Every project that promised to advance the prosperity 
of the country, found in him an energetic advocate. 
He was the moving spirit in constructing a bridge 
across the river at Kaskaskia, the piers of which are 
yet standing, and form an excellent monument to his 
public spirit. 

Hv died in the year 1837, leaving a vacancy in life 
which but few have the ability to fill. His remains were 
deposited in the old graveyard at Kaskaskia, where all 
that was mortal of so many of the pioneers has 
mingled with its original dust. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 41 

His descendants have occupied respectable positions 
in community. Joseph was his oldest son. He went 
to Ohio, and resided there several years, then returned, 
and died at Prairie du Rocher in 1845. 

James, the second son, is now a citizen of Wisconsin, 
having gone to that State many years ago. 

William located in Belleville, and died there in 184->. 

Lewis located in Covington, Washington county, and 
practiced medicine there until 1851, when he removed 
to Chester, and engaged in the mercantile business. 
He died in 1856. 

G-eorge is the youngest son. and still resides in Kas- 
kaskia, where he was born. 

Robert Morrison, a brother of William, came to 
Kaskaskia in 1793. He was of a friendly, sociable 
disposition, and became very popular. He was ap- 
pointed Clerk of the Common Pleas Court in 1801, and 
held the office for many years. A favorite with the 
people, he was often selected to fill positions of impor- 
tant trust. Like his brother, he dispensed hospitality 
in a liberal manner, and his house became the home of 
his friends and visitors to Kaskaskia. 

His second wife, who was the mother of his children, 
was a literary prodigy. Many of her poetical contribu- 
tions to the magazines of that day. touched the higher 
order of poetry. She remodeled in verse the Psalms of 
David, and had the volume presented to the Philadel- 
phia Presbytery for criticism. The work passed a crit- 
ical examination, and received much praise; but was 
rejected, probably more from the fact that it came from 
an obscure author, than from its merits. She took a 
deep interest in politics, and often wielded much influ. 
ence in a political campaign by her ably written com- 
munications in the newspapers.; 
*4 



42 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

The sons of Robert Morrison are Edgar, James 

LoWERY DONALDSON, JOHN MURRAY, and ROBERT. 

Edgar graduated at the West Point Military Acade- 
my, and entered the army. He died in the home of his 
infancy, while on a visit to his parents, in 1836. 

James L. D. chose the profession of law, and prac- 
ticed at the bar for several years. He joined the volun- 
teers who went to Mexico, in 1846, and was promoted 
to the office of Lieutenant Colonel of Illinois' second 
resciment. He has often been a member of the Le^is- 
lature, and was elected to Congress in 1856. His 
younger brothers emigrated to California, where they 
now reside. 

Shadrack Bond, from Maryland, arrived in Kaskas- 
kia in 1704. He was a nephew of Shadrack Bond 
whose name was mentioned among the first settlers in 
the American Bottom. Nature had designed Bond for 
a Representative man, and though he was surrounded 
by men of great minds, he soon became a leader. He 
was elected first to the Territorial Legislature, then to 
the lower House of Congress, and the first Governor of 
the State, without opposition. After he retired from 
the Executive chair, he was appointed Register of the 
Land Office at Kaskaskia, and continued in that position 
for many years. He died in l^oO — the lamented and 
favorite Statesman of Illinois. With all those noble 
qualities which adorn mankind, the character of Gov- 
ernor Bond was richly endowed. 

He left two sons — Thomas and Benjamin. 

Thomas chose the profession of law. and practiced in 
Eandolph and adjoining counties, until the year 1*49. 
when he died, in the very vigor of manhood's youth and 
promise. Benjamin is a respectable physician, prac- 
ticing his profession at Evansville. 



OP RANDOLPH COUNTY. 43 

In the year 1798, Dr. George Fisher, from Virginia, 
located in Kaskaskia, and commenced the practice of 
his profession. He remained in the town until 1806, 
when he moved out about five miles on the Prairie du 
Rocher road, and opened a farm. By his sprightly 
activity, and practical judgment, he became an influen- 
tial member of the community, and a popular politi- 
cian. When the Indiana Territory was organized, he 
was appointed Sheriff of Randolph Count}'. Upon the 
organization of Illinois Territory, he was elected a 
member of the first General Assembly, and chosen 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1818, 
he was elected a member of the Constitutional Con- 
vention which framed the first Constitution for the 
State of Illinois. 

The region in which lie lived has always borne the 
name of "Dr. Fisher's Settlement," because he was 
the first and leading man there. He died in 1820, on his 
form at the foot of the bluff. Jacob Fisher, who 
improved a farm upon the Western side of the Kaskas- 
kia river, near the shoal, was the only son of the Doc- 
tor. He moved away to Arkansas many years ago. 

Dr. Truman Tuthill came to Kaskaskia in L802, 
with the army, as a surgeon. He located and practice* I 
for several years in the town, and then moved to Caho- 
kia. In 1809, he was appointed Judge of the Common 
Pleas Court of St. Clair County. 

Benjamin H. Doyle, John Rector, and James FIag- 
gan, came to Kaskaskia in 1K04, and commenced the 
practice of law. Haggan returned to Kentucky, from 
whence he came, and afterwards became a distinguished 
Judge of that State. 

Nathaniel PorE first appeared in Kaskaskia in 1804, 
but he located and practiced law at St. Cenivieve, Mis. 



44 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

souri, until 1808, when he returned and became a per- 
manent citizen of the former place. The year follow- 
ing, Illinois Territory was organized, and Pope received 
the appointment of Secretary. In the absence of Gov- 
ernor Edwards, who had not yet arrived, Secretary 
Pope, as Acting-Governor, issued a proclamation 
formally organizing the Territory. In 1817, he was 
elected the Territorial delegate to Congress, and 
became a very influential member of that body. It 
was by his efforts that the northern boundary of the 
State was changed from a line running due west from 
the southern point of Lake Michigan, and fixed upon 
latitude forty-two and a half degrees north. Upon the 
admission of Illinois into the Federal Union, Pope was 
appointed Judge of the United States District Court, 
and held that office for more than thirty years. Nature, 
it would seem, had designed him for the bench, and he 
occupied the position with such ability and dignity as 
elevated him to a high rank among the jurists of the 
country. 

In 1844, he moved from Kaskaskia and located in 
Alton, where he died in 1850, having attained the age 
<>f sixty-six years. He left two sons — William and 
John. William died in St. Louis some years ago. 
.fo u.\ belongs to the United States Topographical Ser- 
vice, and has become somewhat distinguished for his 
scientific efforts in sinking Artesian wells on the West- 
ern plains. 

The Rector family, consisting of nine brothers, came 
to Kaskaskia in the year 1806. They were in the 
United States Surveying Service, and only remained 
temporarily in Kaskaskia. 

From this period up to 1880, Kaskaskia was the resi- 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 45 

dence of many young men who have risen (<> positions 
of distinction. 

Sidney Breese, who is now one of the most distin- 
guished jurists and statesmen in Illinois, located at 
Kaskaskia on his arrival in the Territory, and remained 
there several years. lie was often elected a member 
of the Legislature, and served one or two sessions in 
the lower House of Congress. When the judiciary of 
the State was re-organized, in 1835, he became the first 
Judge of the Circuit Court whose jurisdiction included 
Eandolph County. He was afterwards elected by the 
Illinois Legislature to a seat in the United States Sen- 
ate, and bore a conspicuous part among the stalwart 
characters of that august body. He is now upon the 
Supreme Bench of the State. 

James Shields, an Irishman by birth, came to Kas- 
kaskia, and commenced his brilliant career by teaching 
school. He afterwards studied law, and became a poli- 
tician. He represented Randolph County in the Legis. 
lature — was Judge of the Circuit Court, and when the 
Mexican War commenced, in 1846, he was appointed 
Brigadier-Creneral of the Illinois volunteers, and distin- 
guished himself as a brave and intrepid soldier in several 
battles. After his return from the Mexican campaign, 
the Illinois Legislature testified their appreciation of his 
military services by electing him to the United States 
Senate. He now represents the new State of Minnesota 
in the Senate of the United States. 

Elias K. Kane commenced the practice of law in 
Kaskaskia, in 1814, before the time of the two gentle- 
men previously referred to. He was a man of brilliant 
talents, and rose to a high position among the members 
of the bar. He served in the Legislature, and was 



46 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

elected by that body to the United States Senate. He 
rose high, and died early. 

David J. Baker commenced his successful career at 
the bar, in Kaskaskia. He enjoyed a lucrative practice 
for many years. He now lives in Alton, having retired, 
in his okrage, from the profession. 



KASKASKIA, smiSrCK 1SOO. 

About the commencement of the year 1800, a differ- 
ent class of people, bringing different customs and 
characteristics, began to disturb the quiet repose which 
the happy people of Kaskaskia had enjoyed for nearly 
one hundred years, and a rapid transition from a French 
to an American city was commenced. At that time it 
was essentially a French village, with all their peculiar 
customs. The French style of architecture had been 
adopted and preserved in the erection of their buildings, 
and though there were some fine and elegantly fur- 
nished houses, an altitude of one story was as high as 
they ever rose. The only brick house in the place had 
been standing for fifty years or more, and at the time 
it was built, it was the only brick house west of Pitts- 
burg. The brick of which its walls were made were 
brought from Pittsburg in flatboats. It is still stand- 
ing — an interesting relic of Kaskaskia' s former days. 

A new order of things was inaugurated by the new 
class of citizens, and the place began to experience the 
symptoms of those convulsions in which "junction 
cities" spring into existence. General Edgar erected a 
large dwelling, and furnished it in grand style. The 
ruins of this building still remain — the posts and the 
chimney are standing — the more interesting as a relic 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 47 

of days gone by, because it was the house in whose 
spacious parlors General LaFayette was entertained 
when he visited Kaskaskia, in 1824. William Mor- 
rison, also, erected a large stone mansion, where he dis- 
played hospitality in a princely style. The walls of this 
building are still standing, cracked and shaken, however. 
It, too, is interesting, because the complimentary ball to 
General LaFayette was given in its richly furnished 
parlors. 

In 1809, when Illinois Territory was organized, Kas- 
kaskia became the seat of Government — the Governor 
and Secretary resided there, and brought all the con- 
comitants of municipal regulations. The first session 
of the Territorial Legislature convened in Kaskaskia, 
on the 25th day of November, L812, and continued to 
hold its sessions there until the capital was located at 
Vandalia. Kaskaskia was, and had been since the 
year 1795, the county seat of Randolph County ; where 
the courts were held, from the Supreme down to the 
Justices. 

The first newspaper in Illinois was established in 
1809, by Mathew Duncan, from Kentucky. He con- 
ducted it until 1815, when it was purchased by Eobert 
Black well and Daniel P. Cook. During its exist- 
ence its columns were edited by many persons who 
have become distinguished lawyers and statesmen — 
Judge Breese is one of them. 

During the period of ten years, from 1810 to 1820, 
Kaskaskia was the rendezvous of an immense floating 
population, which gave it the air of a bee-hive. Every 
emigrant to the Territory directed his course to it as 
the point from wmich to explore the country and select 
locations. A census taken then showed the population 
to be seven thousand and some hundreds. 



48 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

About 1820 other towns began .to spring up and 

ciaini attention. The confusion, bustle and storm 
raised by the swarming emigrants in Kaskaskia, began 
to die away, leaving the village to "gradually and quietly 
resume its original character. 



THE CONVENT. 

In 1832 the Sisters of the Visitation came to Kaskas- 
kia, and commenced the erection of a Convent. By the 
assistance of Col. Menard the enterprise promised a 
success, and early in 1833 the foundation of the struc- 
ture was laid. The main building is one hundred and 
ten feet long, thirty-two feet wide, and lour stories high. 
The wing, two stories high, runs back one hundred and 
fifty feet. It was completed and opened for the recep- 
tion of pupils in 1836, and continued a nourishing in- 
stitution until 1844. The building cost $30,000 and 
was the largest of its class in the West, at the time of 
its erection. 

The great flood of 1844 so damaged the building and 
the prospects of the institution that it was abandoned 
by the Sisrcrs. Since then it has been yielding to the 
wear and waste of time, and must soon pass into ruins. 
It is a stately though crumbling monument of the 
christian enterprise of these pious and holy women. 
They came from Georgetown, D. C. and during their 
stay in Kaskaskia two of them died. The others — four 
in number — went to St. Louis, where they have a pop- 
nlar institution. 

The flood of 1844 — the most destructive that has 
oecurred since the Mississippi river has been known — 
blighted the prospects of Kaskaskia, as it did those of 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 4& 

every plaee in the river bottom. Its commercial impor- 
tance was destroyed, and all that which gives life and 
vigor to a plaee was paralyzed. Many of the houses 
were twisted and racked upon their foundations. The 
damage to property was incalculable. 

Again, in 1851, the bottom w r as inundate*!, and though 
the water did not reach the higher localities, its effects 
were damaging in destroying the crops of the vicinity, 
upon which the trade and life of the town were depen- 
dent. And again, in 1857, the waters covered the bot- 
tom, visiting destruction upon the crops and property 
of the Kaskaskia people. These floods have left their 
impress deeply marked upon the once beautiful cottages 
of the village, and but for a few buildings that have 
been repaired and improved by the more enterprising 
citizens, it would seem that the work of decay and ruin 
had commenced; but it may be a century hence ere 
another flood shall come, in which time the place may 
fully recover from the shocks it has received. 

But whatever may be the fate which destin}' has fixed 
— whether it shall rise again to eclipse its former great- 
ness, or whether it shall pass into ruins like Troy and 
Babylon — it will ever claim an important place in the 
annals of this country. The past, at least, is secure. 
It can never pass into oblivion while the history of 
America remains. All that which imparts interest and 
fascination to historic recollections is found in its records 
and traditions. With an existence stretching back 
into the darkness of an unexplored wilderness, its his- 
tory blends the wild romance of Indian life with the 
thrilling adventures of the French pioneers; their life,, 
exploits and gayeties, for nearly one hundred years; 
the pious labors of the Jesuit missionaries among the 
untamed savages; the founding .of the tirst parish 
5 



50 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

church in America; the military exploits of the English 
in 1755; the transfer of the country from France to 
England; the extraordinary campaign of Col. Clark; 
and the series of events by which the State Government 
of Illinois was brought into existence. 



Jn these sketches, a superficial outline is all that has 
been attempted. The student of history may form 
some conception of the prolific fountains, whose sources 
only have been pointed out. 



Daring the time of the Chickasaw war, in llo6, a 
Fort was built upon the high hill on the eastern side 
of the K ask ask i a, opposite the town. Of its dimensions 
and the materials of which it was constructed, nothing 
is now definitely known. Tradition alone is the author- 
ity for the fact of its erection at that period. It was 
repaired in 1756. and occupied by a French garrison 
during the "Old French War." From this time the 
bluff on which it stood has borne the name of " Garrison 
Hill." This old structure was destroyed by fire in 
1766/ and another Fort upon the same spot was soon 
afterwards erected by the English. This new struc- 
ture was built of immense square timbers, and was two 
hundred and ninty feet long and two hundred and fifty- 
one feet wide. Within the main building was a maga- 
zine constructed of stone, a commandant's chamber, 
and some smaller houses. When Fort Chartres was 
abandoned in 1772. the Governor and the British gar- 
rison moved to. and occupied '♦ Port Gage" — the Fort 



OF R A N DOLPH CO U N T Y 5 1 

having received that appellation in honor of General 
CrAGK, the then British Commander-in-chief. At the 
time Col. Clark besieged and took the Fort, in 177S, 
it was occupied l>y a garrison of twenty soldiers, under 
the command of Governor Rochbblave, and strong! j 
guarded by four cannons. It was then the headquar- 
ters of the British government in the West, and con- 
tained the records of the Territory from the time the 
English took possession, in 1763. When the governor 
was taken prisoner in his private chamber in the Fort, 
his wife, with a solicitude that never deserts a woman 
in the moment of peril, concealed or destroyed the 
archives, so that the land grants and other valuable 
documents of that period, have been lost. 

Col. Clark occupied the Fort while he remained, and 
after he left the country and the war ceased, it was de- 
serted, and remained without an occupant until 1801, 
when Col. Pike's regiment occupied it for a short time. 
From this date it began to decay, and its walls soon 
crumbled and fell to the ground. It is now an obscure 
ruin. The traces of the walls are faintly visible. The 
outlines of the magazine, and the breastworks thrown up 
during tin 4 time of the Revolution, may vet be seen. 



Some most deeply interesting historical recollections 
cluster around the place, known in modern days by 
the name of "Riley's Mill," situated on the eastern side 
of Kaskaskia. For aught that is now known to the 
contrary, the first mill that was erected in Illinois may 
have stood upon this mill site; for the time previous to 
the building of a mill there has passed from the tradi- 



52 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

tious of Kaskaskia. Certain it is, however, that a mill 
was standing there one hundred and fifty years ago. 
According to the title records, now in possession of Mr. 
Riley, the namo of him that owned the mill at that, 
period was Prix Paoi. [This name is somewhat eon- 
foundod with that of Paget, and as the French pro- 
nounce both names the same, it is probable that it U 
the same name, though spelled differently. Pkck and 
Reynolds both employ Peget, in reference to this mil- 
ler, but the name in the deed of conveyance which Mr. 
Riley holds, is spelled Pagi.] lie erected a stone 
building, and manufactured flour for the Jfew Orleans 
and Mobile markets. How long he continued to run 
the mill is not known, but ho lost his life in one of 
those tragic scenes common to Indian barbarity. One 
day while superintending the operations of the mill, the 
premises were attacked by a band of Kickapoo Indians, 
and he was murdered in a most shocking manner. 
When the attack was made upon the mill, a negro es- 
caped by a back way, fled to the town and gave the 
alarm. The people came and found the body of Pagi 
upon the floor mangled and cut to pieces. The head 
was severed from the body, scalped, and thrown into 
the hopper. 

After the death of PAGI, the mill was abandoned, 
and became a ruin — the walls only remaining. About 
the year 1705, General Ed'lvr purchased the tract of 
land and rebuilt the mill. The mill-pond, situated 
about three hundred yards distant from the mill, was 
made by nature, and apparently designed for the pur- 
pose. It covers an area of about forty acres, and is 
surrounded by an irregular range of hills, with an outlet 
for the water on the side towards the mill, about three 
hundred feet wide. An embankment, or dam, wa* 



OP RANDOLPH COUNTY. 515 

made across this outlet, and the water forced to pass 
through an arched culvert, at the end of which is a gate 
to regulate the passage of the water. During the inter- 
val in which the mill ceased to run, this dam was 
almost destroyed by the wear of the floods, but it was 
repaired by General Edgar, and made more substantia' 
than before. At the time these repairs were made, Mrs. 
Edgar, and "Dice," a negress belonging to the family, 
planted some little cotton- wood cions in the mellow dirt, 
which have grown to be stately trees. The regular 
order in which these trees are standing upon that em- 
bankment has prompted many a curious conjecture. 
Strangers visiting the ground are apt to notice this 
regularity. 

Gen. Edgar kept the mill in operation for many 
years, and the pioneers, as they came to the country and 
settled in different parts of the county, resorted to it 
to have their milling done. A few of those relics of 
early days are still remaining, and they retain vivid 
recollections of the days when they rode astride a 
horse, with a sack containing two bushels of corn for a 
saddle, a distance of ten or fifteen miles, to " Edgar's 
Mill/' and waited and fished in the mill-pond until their 
"turn" was ground. Waiting for "turns" was an 
interesting epoch for boys- whose sociable disposition 
found but few opportunities for exercise in their iso- 
lated homes. Many a happy hour has been whiled 
away around that old mill, by the boys who congre- 
gated there from the different settlements. "Mill 
boys" did not require the formalities of an introduc- 
tion before they joined in a game of marbles or bat. It 
was a privilege to go to mill, and the longer they had 
to wait the better it pleased them. With men it was 
different. They were always in a hurry, and jealous of 



54 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

their rights. If one was ever cheated out of his « turn," 
which sometimes happened, a fight was the result. 
But these happy days for the boys, and hours of ner- 
vous anxiety for the men, have passed away. 

The mill ceased to operate again while yet in the 
hands of General Edgar, and remained still for several 
years. In 1832, it was purchased by Messrs. Fkaman 
& Co. It was again repaired and put in good business 
order. This company conducted it for some years, 
when it again changed hands. 

It came into the possession of the present enterpris- 
ing proprietor, Mr. Daniel TJiley, in 1842. Formerly, 
the water was conveyed to the wheel through hollow 
logs. Since Mr. TvIley has had it, he has constructed 
a substantial frame work for this conveyance, and has 
made such other improvements as prevents the waste 
of water, and secures a sufficient quantity to keep the 
mill running, with about fourteen horse power, during 
nearly the whole season. The wheel is an over-shot, 
and no more water is allowed to escape from the pond 
than is necessary to drive the machinery. 

Such is a history of this ancient mill. All that now 
remains of the original structure is the northeast cor- 
ner. This part of the building has stood through all 
the changes of its eventful existence, and its perma- 
nence would indicate that it may defy the corrosive 
attrition of another century. 

A short distance in front of the mill stands a beauti- 
ful little mound, called •• Mound Isabella/' named in 
honor of Mrs. EDGAR. Some fruit trees, planted by her 
and "aunt Dice," are Btill growing upon this mound. 
This negro woman was the house servant of Sirs. 
Edgar. She died three years ago, having lived one 
hundred years. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 55 

A spring of pure cool water gushes out of the side 
of the bluff, close to the place where Mr. Riley's store- 
house is now located, whose clear stream has slaked the 
thirst of those who brought the germ of civilization to 
the Western world. A former age may claim it, and 
the associations of antiquity may cluster around it, but 
its waters are as fresh and pure to-day as when the 
first white man drank from its pebbly urn. 

Mr. Riley established a store a few years ago close 
to his mill, and he has brought around him a very brisk 
and remunerative trade. In 1855, finding the capacity 
of the old mill inadequate to the demands of an 
increased population and the increased growth of 
wheat, he commenced the erection of a steam-mill 
which has since gone into operation. Both mills may 
be kept running most of the year by the water of the 
pond above described. 



FORT O H! ,VRT R KS4. 

Under the patronage of the Company of the West, 
and bearing a charter from the crown of France, M. 
Pierre Duque Baisbriant, the representative of the 
government, and Marc Antoine de la Soire De Ur. 
sins, the principal Secretary of the Company, came to 
Kaskaskia, in 1717, with instructions to erect a Fort 
which should be made the Seat of Government for the 
Illinois country. 

The site selected was in the American Bottom, one 
mile distant from the Mississippi river, and about three 
miles from the eastern range of bluffs, in the northwest 
corner of the present limits of Randolph County. The 
work was commenced in 1717, and the Port completed 



DO HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

in two years. It was called "Fort des Chartres," for 
the reason that its erection was authorized by a charter 
from Louis XIV, King of France. It was built of 
timber, of ample dimensions for the erection within of 
a building to accommodate the Executive of the Terri- 
tory, one for the garrison, a magazine, and some others. 
The Fort was surrounded with a strong palisade, con- 
structed of such immense timbers, and finished so sub- 
stantially, as to be almost impregnable to the assaults of 
any implements of war known to those early days. 

It was designed for the purpose, and became the seat 
of government for Illinois. It was the headquarters 
of the French officers while the country remained in 
possession of France. The celebrated Francois Re- 
nault resided here, and directed his extensive mining 
operations. Baisbriant and Ursins were vested with 
the power of making grants of land. Some of their 
records are now in the Recorder's office of this county. 
For a time, Fort Chartres became the centre of busi- 
ness, fashion, and gayety. 

The Company of the West was dissolved in 1730, 
and D'Artaguette was appointed Governor. In 1736, 
when the Chickasaw war commenced, Governor Bien- 
ville, of Louisiana, called upon the Governor of Illi- 
nois for all the troops he could raise. Exerting his in- 
fluence with the chiefs of the Indian tribes west of 
Lake Michigan, he collected about one thousand war- 
riors at Fort Chartres. The gallant Yincennes, of the 
Wabash country, united his forces with D'Artaguette. 
All the French soldiers that could be raised were 
rendezvoused at the Fort. Preparations for the expe- 
dition to meet Bienville in the South, were hastily 
made, and the whole army departed from Fort Char- 
tres down the Mississippi. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 57 

The unfortunate fate of the brave and chivalrous 
D'Artaguette and Vinoennes has been related. La 
Buissoniere succeeded to the Governorship of Illinois. 
In 1730, a further requisition was made upon him for 
troops. Ho collected about two hundred French sol- 
diers, and three hundred Indian warriors, and sailed 
from Fort Chartres down the Mississippi, to join tha 
Southern army. 

In 1751, the Chevalier McOarty became Governor of 
Illinois, and arrived at Fort Chartres in August, with 
troops to reinforce the Fort. As war at that time was 
raging between France and England, and threatening 
to disturb the Western country, it was decided to 
rebuild and improve the Fort. This time it was built 
of durable limestone, quarried in the bluff three miles 
distant, boated across an intervening lake, and carted 
to the Fort. The plan of the new structure was differ- 
ent from the old one, and much larger. It was an 
irregular square, or quadrangle. The exterior sides 
were four hundred and ninety-feet, and, therefore, the 
main building covered an area of five acres and a frac- 
tion. The walls were two feet two inches thick, and 
pierced with loop-holes at regular distances, and two 
port-holes in the faces, and two in the flanks of each 
bastion for cannon. A banquette around the interior 
side of the wall was raised three feet high for the sol- 
diers to stand upon when they fired from behind the 
parapets. Within the square of the main building were 
erected a Commandant's and Commissary's house ; a 
magazine for stores, and two barracks. In the gorges 
of the bastions Avere the powder-magazine, a bake- 
house, and a prison. On the lower floor of the prison 
were four dungeons. 

The commandant's house was ninety-six feet, long, 



58 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

and thirty feet wide. It contained a parlor, dining- 
room, bed-chamber, kitchen, one small room, five closets 
for servants, and a cellar. The commissary's house 
was precisely similar to the one just described. Oppo- 
site these was the storehouse, ninety feet long and 
twenty-four wide. It contained two large store-room*, 
a parlor, chapel, an officers' guard-room, a closet for the 
storekeeper, and bed-chamber. Beneath the storehouse 
was a vaulted cellar. The barracks were each twenty 
feet square, and each contained two rooms for officers 
and three for soldiers. Over each building spacious 
lofts extended from end to end, and were used for 
storing regimental stores and entrenching tools. Capt. 
Pitman, an engineer belonging to the British army, 
visited Fort Ohartres about the year 1768, and gave it 
as his opinion that it was the strongest and most con- 
veniently arranged fortification on the^North American 
Continent. 

When the Knglish took possession of the country in 
1705, (the cession was made in 170o,} Fort Chartres 
was made the Seat of Government, and a small garrison 
stationed there, ('apt. Stirling formally took posses- 
sion of the country on arriving at Fort Chartres, by 
issuing a proclamation in the name of "His Britanic 
Majesty," signed by Thomas Gage, then Commander- 
in-Chief of the British army in the Colonies. Capt. 
Stirling died in six months after his arrival. lie was 
succeeded first by Major Frazier, then by Col Reed, 
then by Col. Wilkins, each of whom made their resi- 
dence at the Port. 

When the Port was Hrsi built, in 1718-19, it stood 
about one mile distant from the river. In 1724, a great 
freshet overflowed the river bottom, and washed away 
some of the bank in front of the Fort. The margin of 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 59 

the Mississippi, made by alluvial soil, is ever changing. 
In 175*), the river bank was half a mile from the Fort 
A short time before Capt. Pitman's visit, in 1708, a sand 
bar was formed in the river, and directed the current 
against the bank nearest the Fort, which wore it away 
rapidly. Two years afterwards the river had approach- 
ed so near as to alarm the officers about to the safety of 
their magnificent Fortress. In 1772, another freshet 
inundated the river bottom, and undermined the west- 
ern wall of the Fort. The balance of the structure 
was greatly injured. It was abandoned, and the Seat of 
Government established at Fort Gage, upon the summit 
of Garrison Hill, far above the reach of floods. 

Fort Chartres was thought to be the Gibraltar of 
America, but the turbulent current of the Mississippi, 
more powerful than armies and navies, worked its 
downfall. It crumbled and wasted rapidly. It was 
deserted, and the demolishing elements played familiar 
with its crumbling walls. In 1820 the southeast angle 
was still remaining. The traces of the front wall were 
completely gone, and the northeast sections were in 
ruins. From this period the process of demolition and 
dilapidation was rapid. Much of the stone was taken 
away, and used for building material in other places 
It was soon a heap of mouldering ruins, and the fata 
of Palmyra, Persepolis and Balbec, is suggested to the 
visitor, as he beholds its remaining vestiges, slumbering 
in the midst of a forest. Trees of stately growth and 
clinging vines are growing upon its foundations. The 
river has retreated, and is a mile distant from the ruins 
Upon the intervening land, which is in the very place 
where the mighty volume of the Mississippi's sullen 
waters swept along eighty years ago, there is a heavy, 
dense growth of timber. 



60' H ISTORICAL 6KETC 1 1 E g 



The (own of Prairie du Roeher was founded about 
the year 1722 — one hundred and thirty-seven years ago. 
About that time a few French families gathered to- 
gether and formed the nucleus for the town. Others 
coming to the country, cast their lot with them, and a 
flourishing little village was started. The strongest 
inducements it could hold out to emigrants, was its 
secluded situation and romantic scenery. It stood at 
the foot of the Mississippi bluffs — whose picturesque 
grandeur is unsurpassed by any range along that great 
river — fourteen miles from Kaskaskia, and three miles 
from Fort Chartres. Though it never attained that 
degree of importance which marked the prosperity of 
its eotemporaneous rivals, yet it acquired, in an early 
day. all the concomitants of a healthy, vigorous town. 
The evidences of water-mills in its vicinity, erected 
there in a very early period of its existence, may yet 
be seen, and the vestiges of stone buildings in the town, 
evidently the work of wealth and enterprise, are yet 
visible. 

In the vicinity of the town were many natural objects 
of curiosity, to attract the attention of those who had 
a taste for the wonderful, and probably from this cause 
many were induced to locate in that place. The natu- 
ral mill site situated in a ravine which abruptly breaks 
the range of rocky bluffs that overlooks the town, was 
something to attract wonder and admiration, as well 
as to furnish to some enterprising capitalist the advan- 
tages or a saw mill more than half constructed. The 
range of bluffs on one side of this break, following the 
•burse of the ravine, describes an arc. and a natural 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 61 

ridge starting from a point of the bluff on the opposite 
side of tbe ravine, marks the diameter of the circle, and 
reaches within two hundred feet of the bluff on the 
other side. This ridge was finished out by artificial 
means in the days of the Jesuits, and gave a fall of 
near twenty feet to the water where it dammed the 
ravine. The area of the mill-pond is about two hun- 
dred acres, and the stream of water coming through 
the bluffs is fed by never failing springs. 

There is a spring situated at the foot of the bluffs, one 
mile above the town, which gushes out at the base of a 
perpendicular rock, towering up two hundred feel high, 
and sends forth an immense volume. Formerly the 
aperture through which the water rose was about six 
feet in diameter, and its depth could not be fathomed. 
Latterly, it has been nearly filled with sticks and 
stones by wanton hands. The crystal purity of this 
spring would suggest that it might have been the foun- 
tain so eagerly sought by the Spanish explorers of this 
Continent, which they supposed to possess properties 
that would give immortality to youthful vigor. 

A cave in the side of the bluff not far distant from 
the spring, is another object of curious interest. The 
entrance to the cavern is about sixty feet high from the 
base of the rock; is almost round, and about six feet in 
diameter. Its interior chambers have been explored 
somewhat, but nothing is known of their dimensions. 
There is a legend which relates that at one time the 
Spaniards hid valuable treasures in the cave. Many 
an avaricious spirit has searched and shoveled in vain 
for the possession of those treasures, and the same in- 
ducement to search remains. 

The Common Field, and Commons of Prairie du Eo- 

cher were granted to the village in the year 1730, by 
6 



62 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Jean Baptiste St. Therse, nephew of Baisbkiant, 
Governor of Louisiana, who obtained the title from the 
Koyal Company of the Indies. The church property 
was obtained from the same source, and the church was 
erected in the year 1734. The same building is still 
standing, and forms one of the most interesting relics 
of former years to be found about the village. It was 
constructed in the French style of architecture, by 
driving cedar posts into the ground, and filling the 
space between them with stone and mortar. For a 
period of one hundred and twenty-five years it has 
stood against storm and flood, and its walls have echoed 
the pious articulations of many holy men, who have 
long since passed to the realms of a brighter existence. 
Within its portals have been christened the infants o£ 
three successive generations, and the marriage vows 
of the parish people in all that time have been heard 
at its sacred altar. But mutation has been written 
upon it as surely as it was upon the minarets of an- 
cient Xinevah. Though the rites of the church are 
yet performed within its ancient portals, the time-worn 
walls are yielding to the pressure of the roof, and must 
ere long foil to the ground. Preparations have already 
commenced for the erection of a new one, which will 
contrast strikingly with the rude structure of the old 
one. 

Among the earliest of the French settlers in Prairie 
du Koeher, appear the names of Etenne Langlois, 
Jean Baptiste Blais, Jean Baptiste Barbeau, An- 
toine Louvier, LaCompte, and some others. 

Etenne Langlois came from Canada, and devoted 
himself to farming. He became a very influential man 
in th<^ community, and left a very respectable family. 
His oldest son, Etenne, was a wheel-wright, and a very 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 63 

useful man in the town. He left three sons — Etenne, 
Charles, and William. Charles is now living about 
four miles west of Prairie du Rocher. The other two 
died several years ago. 

Francois was the second son of the first Langlois, 
and the father of Jerard, Antoine, Franqois, Michael, 
and Benjamin, who were conspicuous members of that 
commiinitj' forty years ago and later. Francois Lang- 
lois, now living about five miles east of the town, is 
the son of Jerard. The family is very numerous. 

Jean Baptiste Blais was the germ of that respecta- 
ble family. He devoted himself to the quiet pursuit of 
farming, and was a leading man in the village. He 
reached an extreme old age, and died in the year 1783, 
leaving four sons — Antoine, Joseph, Charles, and 
Louis — the latter died in early life. The others were 
industrious, respectable citizens. Joseph and Antoine 
died in 1823 ; Charles in 1831. Antoine Blais, who 
is now merchandising in Praire du Rocher, and Expe- 
dient, his brother, living seven miles east of the town, 
are sons of Antoine, and grandsons of Jean Baptiste 
Joseph. 

Jean Baptiste Barbeau was another of the first em- 
igrants from Canada, and one of the founders of Prairie 
du Rocher. He was the father of the respectable fam- 
ily bearing his name, who have always held a promi- 
inent position in that community. His sons were 
Andrew, Antoine, Baptiste and Henry, all of whom 
are dead. Their descendants are numerous. Andrew, 
the oldest son, reached an extreme old age, and died 
suddenly, while walking upon the bluffs, a few months 
ago. Mr. Cole and Mr. Crane, of St. Louis, both mar- 
ried daughters of Antoine. 

Antoine Louvier came in early times from Canada, 



64 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

and engaged in farming. His son Antoine became a 
very prominent man, and died in 1836, leaving a very 
numerous family, man}' of whom are still living in the 
village. 

Damour Louvier was a branch of the same family, 
and lived in the town during a long life. 

A Mr. LaComptb was one of the first settlers, and died 
about the close of the last century. He left a son who 
was promoted to the post of Major of the Militia, in 
1812, which place he filled with much popularity. He 
was among the first men of Prairie du Rocher during 
his life. He has a son now residing in St. Genivieve, 
Missouri. 

Among those who came in later years are the names 
of Jean Baptiste Du Clais; Erny, Joseph, Alexis and 
Isadore Godair; Francois and Joseph Tongais; Joseph 
Champagne; Joseph Lamore; the Fascair family and 
some others. 

Jean Baptiste DuClais was a blacksmith, and a 
very useful man to the town, and the surrounding 
country. He lived to be very old, and died in 1838. 
He had a son, Michael, who was an industrious farmer. 
He died in 1839, leaving a large family, many of whom 
are now living in the town. 

The GtOdair brothers came from Detroit and engaged 
in farming. They became somewhat distinguished for 
hunting adventures. They left a numerous descen- 
dency, who are engaged in farming. 

Joseph Tongais lived in Prairie du Rocher until his 
death, in 1827, having spent an industrious life. His 
brother Francois died in 1827, leaving two sons — Fran- 
cois and A made — both residing in Monroe County. 

Joseph Champagne was a Canadian, and came to 
Prairie du Rocher about the close of the last century. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 65 

He was a carpenter by trade, and built the mansion of 
Col. Menard, at the foot of Garrison Hill, on the east 
side of the Kaskaskia river. This house is still stand- 
ing, but in a state of rapid decay. Champagne died in 
St. Clair County, in 1828. 

JosEpn Lamore was a farmer, and died in 1825, leav- 
ing no descendents about Prairie du Eocher. 

The Fascair family became numerous, and bore a 
conspicuous part in the community. Ambrose, John 
and Henry Kerr, are descendants of this family. 

The history of Prairie du Eocher presents no marked 
event. It was strictly a French village for more than 
an hundred years, and the orderly inhabitants quietly 
pursued their various avocations, enjoying their social 
amusements undisturbed. They were a happy, con- 
tented people, unambitious, and careless of wealth or 
distinction. They were free from that strife, conten- 
tion and turmoil which attends the pursuit of wealth 
and political preferment. Their life was an uninter- 
rupted stream of quiet, joyous happiness. 

About the year 1800, the first English or American 
settlers appeared among the people of Prairie du Eo- 
cher. Archibald McISab came from Kentucky and 
established a tan-yard — the first in the place — and car- 
ried on that business until 1821. In that year he died. 
Alexander McNab, now living in the town, is a son of 
of Archibald. 

About the same time, or probably as early as 1795, 
Clement Drury, from Maryland, came to Prairie du 
Eocher, and erected a horse-mill. This mill stood near 
the present residence of Mr. Sprigg. It did a good bus- 
iness, and was a great benefit to the people for many 
years. Mr. Drury died in 1812, leaving four sons — 

John, William, Clement, and Eaphael. John emi- 
*6 



-66 HISTORICAL SKBTCHES 

grated and settled in Missouri. William and Clement 
located in town, and died there some years ago, leaving 
families. Eaphael died in California. 

Henry Conner came from Kentucky, in 1812, and 
settled in the town. Two years afterwards, he was 
appointed to the office of Sheriff. He was Marshal of 
the Territory at one time, and filled other offices. He 
left three sons — Barnet, William, and Edward. Bar- 
net located in Monroe county, and died there in 1852. 
William lives in Wisconsin. Edward located in Prai- 
rie du Eocher, where he died, leaving a family, which 
still reside there. 

In 1814, Henry Kerr, an Englishman, came from 
Boston, and established a store. He continued in this 
business several years. Ambrose, John, and Henry 
Kerr, before referred to, are his sons. The two former 
are merchandising ; the latter lives two miles from 
town, and is engaged in farming. 

In 1824, the population of Prairie du Eocher was 
about five hundred. In that year, Andrew Barbeau 
built a mill about one mile below town. In 1825, the 
town was incorporated, but there appearing to be no 
necessity for an organization, it was abandoned. In 
1835, it was renewed again, but has since ceased to ex- 
ist. In 1840, William Henry, Esq., erected and put 
in operation a steam-mill upon the same ground where 
the new mill of Brickey & Lee now stands. In 1850, 
an impetus was given to the progress of the town, 
since which time it has been improving rapidly, and 
promises a healthy and vigorous growth. 

The place now contains one first class flouring mill ; 
four dry goods stores ; two grocery stores ; two furni- 
ture stores ; one saddlery shop ; one tailor shop ; one 
boot and shoe shop ; one wagon shop ; three blacksmith 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 67 

shops; one wagon manufactory; two carpenter and 
cabinet shops; two hotels; one church — no resident 
priest. Present population about five hundred. 



RANDOLPH COUNTY. 



A special sketch having been devoted to the leading 
events which precede the existence of Eandolph county, 
and which transpired within its limits ; and, also, a 
sketch of the towns which have marked its progress, 
but little remains of its history beyond the transition 
from a wilderness to the high state of prosperous 
development which it now enjoys, and the arrival of 
the pioneers who laid the foundation for that great 
change. 



1798. — Tradition has it that when Col. Clark took 
possession of the country, in 1778, he named the district 
around Kaskaskia " Eandolph County," as a compli- 
ment to Edmund Eandolph, the distinguished States- 
man of Virginia. The limits of the county Avere nol 
defined; neither was there a county organization. 
Upon the arrival of Governor St. Clair, at Kaskaskia, 
in 1790, he established St. Clair County, which em- 
braced all the southern part of the State below a point 
on the Illinois river, including the region which Col. 
Clark had previously named Eandolph County. 

1795. — In 1795, however, Eandolph County was for- 



68 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

mally established, and the machinery of local govern- 
ment put in operation. It included all that part of the 
State which lies south of a line running upon the par- 
allel of the New Design Settlement, in Monroe county, 
due east to the Wabash river. 

At the time the county was organized, the area 
which it now includes was an almost unbroken wilder- 
ness, interrupted only by the villages of Kaskaskia and 
Prairie da Kocher. But the precursors of civilization 
and refinement were on their way, and the rays of a 
new era were reaching into its wild woods. The story 
of its fertile soil, its delightful and health-giving cli- 
mate, and its crystal streams of water, had gone to the 
Atlantic coast and awakened a spirit of emigration. 
Lured by the accounts of a country for which Nature 
had done so much, the pioneers began to drop in and 
join the scattering few who had already located amidst 
its darkened forests. These were a brave and noble race 
of men, and merit a place in these sketches. They 
opened the way for the great improvement that has 
followed, the blessings of which are now enjoyed by 
those inhabiting the county. They, too, furnished the 
materials, and with them occurred the events which 
impart all that is interesting to the early history of 
Randolph County. 



SETTLEMENT — A.ND PIONEERS OE 

RANDOLPH COUNTY. 

1780. — A little colony of pioneers — some of whom 
were soldiers under Col. Clark — made a settlement on 
the east side of the Kaskaskia river, three miles from 
town, as early as tne year 1780. The names of theso 



OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 69 

settlers were John Montgomery, Joseph Anderson, 
John Dodge, John Doyle, David Pagon, M. Augustus, 
James Curry, and Levi Teel. They erected a few 
rude cabins, and made small farms. John Montgomery 
located upon the identical spot where Stace McDon- 
ough settled when he came to the country twenty 
years later. The settlement was almost broken up 
before the year 1790. 

These pioneers experienced all the incidents common 
to frontier life, and encountered perilous adventures of 
a character so thrilling as to assume the air of fiction. 
One day, James Curry and Levi Teel were out hunt- 
ing, and being overtaken by nightfall, they encamped 
in a new house just erected by David Pagon, but not 
yet occupied. During the latter part of the night the 
house was besieged by a band of sixteen Piankashaw 
Indians. Teel proposed to surrender, lest a worse fate 
should befall them. To this proposition Curry reso- 
lutely demurred. He was brave, even to desperation; 
and knowing the house had been built substantial, and 
that the door was strongly barred, he determined to 
give battle. Teel went to the door, either to open it, 
or reconnoitre, and while standing near it, the Indians 
stuck a spear through a hole in the door into his foot, 
which fastened him to the floor. Instinctively he seized 
the spear to pull it out, when another spear was driven 
into his hand. His heartless enemies now had him 
fast, and they jagged and cut his hands in a most shock- 
ing manner. Curry, fearing lest Teel should open the 
door, mounted the loft and commenced firing upon the 
assailants. He fired three shots in rapid succession, 
each time bringing a warrior to the ground. Still fear- 
ing that Teel would open the door, he descended to 
the floor, and finding him disabled, he again sprang to 



70 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

the loft and renewed his desperate defense. Discover- 
ing that the Indians had huddled close against the house 
to avoid his destructive shots, he tumbled the weight- 
poles of the roof down upon them, killing their chief, 
and wounding some others. This intrepid feat, and 
the approach of morning light drove the Indians from 
the house, leaving Curry the victorious champion of 
the siege. By his fearless daring he saved himself and 
companion from Indian captivity, and probably death 
at the stake. 

Curry was one of Clark's favorite soldiers, and dis- 
tinguished himself in the capture of Forts Gage and 
Sackville. He was foremost in every perilous enter- 
prise, and never quailed before danger. His life was 
one of thrilling adventures, and fate doomed him to a 
tragic end. In company with Joseph Anderson, he 
went out hunting and never returned. The presence 
of lurking, hostile savages, left no doubts about the 
manner of his death. 

Joseph Curry, now an old man, living at Mr. Riley's 
Mill, is a grandson of the pioneer hero. 

This little settlement was harrassed unceasingly by 
the Indians until the settlers were forced to abandon it. 
But it was renewed again in a few years, and became 
one of the most important in the county. 

1780. — In the same year that this settlement was 
made opposite Kaskaskia, another one was commenced 
on the same side of the river, above the mouth of Nine 
Mile creek, by some of Clark's soldiers, and a few- 
friends whom they had induced to come to the country. 
Among the settlers were Daniel Hicks, Henry and 
Elijah Smith, Hitterbrand, Hayden, Lanceford and 
some others. Most of these men lived and died in this 
settlement. They were quiet, industrious people, and 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 71 

took but little part in any thing beyond the limits 
of their own neighborhood. The descendants of some 
of them are still living in the county. 

1783. — In the year 1783, Thomas Hughs, from Ken- 
tucky, came to the Territory to select a place with a 
view of bringing out his family. He marked a place 
for settlement on the eastern side of the Kaskaskia 
river, in the Montgomery neighborhood, and then re- 
turned for his family in Kentucky. On his return to 
that State he persuaded some friends to accompany 
him, and a small party started for Illinois. While 
crossing the Ohio river, they were attacked by Indians, 
and Hughs and three others of the party were killed. 
Mrs. Hughs was sitting in the boat with her child at 
the breast, and a ball from one of the savages' guns 
spattered its brains in her face. 

The balance of the party escaped and returned to 
Kentucky. Some years afterwards, Mrs. Hughs mar- 
ried James Pillars, and with his two sons — John and 
Richard, and the surviving son of Hughs — James — 
they resolved to resume the journey to the wilds of Illi- 
nois, which had been so suddenly interrupted by the 
death of Hughs. 

1795. — They arrived at Kaskaskia in 1795, and made 
a settlement on the east side of the river — on the farm 
which is now occupied by Henry Hughs, and widely 
known as the "old Hughs place." Pillars remained 
upon the farm several years, and was an industrious, 
quiet and respected citizen. 

James Hughs — son of him who was killed by the 
Indians — returned to Kentucky and married, and came 
again to Illinois in the year 1800. He was a man of 
remarkable energy and sound judgment, and became a 
very important constituent of the infant settlement. 



72 ' HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

He was in the United States ranging service, in 1812. 
He obtained possession of his step-father's farm, and 
lived upon it until his death. His sons have borne a 
respectable position in this county. 

James Hughs was the oldest, and became a very pop- 
ular man. He Avas often elected to fill important offices. 
He died in Kaskaskia, in 1842. John Hughs was the 
second son, and now lives about ten miles northwest of 
Chester. Stace located on the west side of the Kas- 
kaskia river, in the O'Harra neighborhood, and died 
there in 1857. Felix resides near his brother John, is 
a farmer, and holds the office of magistrate. Henry 
lives upon the farm of his father where he was born. 

John Pillars opened a farm about half a mile north 
west of his father, but moved soon afterwards, and lo- 
cated on the western side of the Opossumden prairie. 
He was a man of high standing, having been chosen 
major of the militia, which position he held for a long 
term of years. He died in 1851, on his farm, where he 
had lived nearly half a century. 

Eichard Pillars was of a migratory disposition, 
seldom remaining long at any place. He last lived on 
Mary's Elver, near the Little Mill seat, and died there 
in 1844. The descendants of the Pillars are still re- 
siding in the county. 

1797. — Stace McDonough, one of the most conspicu- 
ous and leading characters of pioneer times, came and 
located in the Pillars' settlement in 1787. He was a 
soldier in the Kentucky militia, and was in many expe- 
ditions against the Indians. He served under Col. 
Clark in an expedition to the Wabash, in 1786. He 
was in the disastrous defeat of Gen. St. Clair, in 1791, 
and miraculously saved himself from that dreadful car- 
nage. He commanded a boat on the Ohio river, in 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 73 

1793, and while passing down the stream was shot in 
the shoulder by some lurking savages on the shore. 
This wound affected him through life. He was also 
with Anthony Wayne, and suited the character of that 
General, whose exploits gained for him the sobriquet of 
"Mad Anthony." During the war of 1812, he carried 
the mail from St. Louis, by way of Kaskaskia, to Shaw- 
neetown, and though the route was beset by dangers 
from the hostile Indians, he made his trips regularly. 
He was elected Captain of a ranging company, and 
filled the station with marked ability. He lived on the 
farm where he first settled, for nearly half a century, 
and died much lamented. He left two sons — James 
and David; the former settled in the lower end of the 
Opossumden Prairie about the year 1820. He died there 
some years ago, and his family are living around the 
old farm. David lives on the farm made by his father. 

1798. — Another addition was made to this settlement 
in the person of Jonathan Pettit, in the year 1798. 
He was a noble specimen of the pioneer class, and by 
his enterprising energy he became a valuable acquisi- 
tion to the little colony in which he located. He 
erected a mill on Nine Mile creek, at the point w T here 
the Chester and Evansville road crosses that stream. 
Some evidences of the existence of this mill may yet be 
found. Pettit was an active, industrious man, full of 
life and energy. Like most of the brave pioneers, he 
joined the " Kangers" in 1812, and discharged his mili- 
tary duties in a manner very creditable to himself and 
the service. His sons were David, Henry, Jonathan, 
and Joseph. The only one of the name of this family 
remaining in the county is Henry Newton Pettit, who 
lives about five miles northwest of Chester. 

1795. — About 1795, John J. Whiteside, and some 
7 



74 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

others, laid off a town on the western bank of the Kas- 
kaskia river, not far from the northern limits of Ran- 
dolph county, and called it Washington, but it ceased 
to grow and be called a town in a very few years. It 
was a town only in name. Some of the Going family 
located in this town, but they remained but a short 
time. 

Before the close of the century, another settlement 
was commenced in Horse Prairie — a name given it 
because of the great number of wild horses found in it. 
The settlers here were Samuel and Winder Kinney, 
Jarrot Brickey, Chance Ratcliff, Gibbons, Robert 
McMahon, and some others. These men had first 
located about the New Design, in Monroe County. For 
a time this settlement promised to become permanent 
and lasting, but it was harrassed by the Indians until 
nearly all the settlers left it. 

One of the most shocking Indian butcheries that ever 
befell the family of any man, happened to that of 
Robert McMahon. The Indians attacked his house 
one day, while the family were all at home, and killed 
Mrs. McMahon and four children. McMahon himself, 
and two small daughters, were fettered and taken pris- 
oners. The Indians, with their captives, hurried away, 
lest the whites should pursue them. Some days after- 
wards, Mr. Judy went to McMahon's house, and in- 
stead of finding the family alive and well, as he had 
expected, he found the mangled bodies of five stretched 
in a row upon the floor, and the dead body of the baby 
in the cradle, supposed to have died of hunger. The 
sad intelligence was given to the settlements around, 
and a small party started in pursuit of the Indians, but 
they had made good their escape. 

The people of the surrounding neighborhoods gath- 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 75 

ered together and buried the dead bodies, and after the 
funeral was over, a religious meeting was held. The 
solemn devotions, prompted by the awfully sorrowful 
occasion, continued until a late hour in the evening. 
Just as the congregation was about breaking up, Mr. 
McMahon came in, nearly exhausted, and fainting from 
fatigue and mental anxiety. If some mysterious being 
from the spirit world had appeared in the midst of that 
assembly, no greater surprise could have been pro- 
duced. He was informed that his family had been 
buried that day, and the awful butchery of which they 
were the victims, had been the occasion of that meet- 
ing. Struggling emotions of piercing sorrow and 
thankful joy filled his heart. His family had been 
murdered, but kind friends had buried them, and 
mingled tears of sorrow with the sod over their graves; 
he had escaped from a horrible captivity, and generous 
friends surrounded him, but the thought of his two 
lovely daughters, still subject to the will of heartless 
savages, almost made him frantic. Imagine, if possible, 
the feelings of that man with such reflections upon his 
mind. He told the story of the attack upon his house, 
and how brutally his lovely family were murdered 
before his eyes, while he was bound and tied down, 
unable to defend them. When his wife and four chil- 
dren lay dead upon the floor, he and the two little girls 
were marched off, and started under the control of 
their captors, they knew not whither. The first night 
after they started, the Indians tied McMahon down 
with tug-ropes, stripped him of most of his clothing, 
and put a belt containing little bells around his body, 
80 that escape was impossible. 

This night a heavy snow fell, and the weather turned 
excessively cold. The next day they traveled hastily 



76 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

over the snowy, frozen ground, which almost killed Mc- 
Mahon and the little girls. The third night the party 
camped above Sugar Creek, not far from the locality of 
Lebanon, in St. Clair county. They had nothing but 
dried venison to eat, and so little of that, that it did 
not satisfy the cravings of nature. But McMahon, 
although nearly starved and frozen, determined to make 
his escape if possible. The Indians took the precau- 
tion to tie and secure him as they had done the previous 
night, but, after they had all lain down and were asleep, 
he slipped the cords from his wrists and body, and 
tied what little clothes he yet had on, around the belt of 
bells, so that they made no noise. He was just attemp- 
ting to rise, when one of the Indians raised his head 
up and looked around, but not noticing McMahon, laid 
down again. When the Indian again slept, he rose 
quietly and escaped, leaving his shoes and most of his 
clothing. Traveling a short distance, barefooted and 
almost naked, he thought it would be death to continue, 
and returned to the camp and tried to get his shoes, 
but he could not without waking the Indians. Prefer- 
ing to die a free man, of cold and hunger, in the 
woods, rather than risk his life with those who had 
cruelly murdered his family, he started for the New 
Design, scarcely expecting to ever reach it. The night 
following that of his escape, he laid down by a log, and 
covering himself with leaves, he slept a little, but his 
feet and elbows were severely frost bitten. The next 
day, late in the evening, he arrived at Prairie du Rocher, 
nearer dead than alive. From there he proceeded to 
the Lemons' Fort to join his friends as above related. 
He did not inform his daughters of his intention to 
escape, fearing they might cry and prevent him from 
getting away. He left them, bitter as was the neces- 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 77 

sity, to the mercy of the savages, trusting that they 
might yet be rescued; and so they were. 

One incident connected with this horrible affair should 
be related to show the sagacity of a little fiste dog. 
During the few days that McMahon' s family lay dead in 
the house where they were murdered, this little dog, a 
favorite in the family, would come to the New Design, 
whine piteously, and run back and forth towards Mc- 
Mahon's house, but no one took notice of him. His 
visits were repeated daily; but the object of his coming 
was not imagined or thought of until the murder was 
discovered. 

When McMahon had returned and gone into the 
meeting, previously mentioned, this little dog was in the 
house. He did not recognize his master at first, he 
was so changed, but after a while he found him out, 
and then leaped upon him, and frisked about almost 
wild with joy. 

Some years after the murder of his family, McMahon 
married again, and lived in Horse Prairie. He was ap- 
pointed a Judge of the Common Pleas Court, and a Jus- 
tice of the Peace in Eandolph County, which offices he 
filled with much ability and satisfaction a long time. 
He moved first to St. Clair, and then to Madison county, 
where he died. 

As remarked in a preceding paragraph, the settlement 
in Horse Prairie was almost broken previous to the 
year 1800. Besides McMahon, Henry Levens and 
Jarrot Brickey, were about the only ones who re- 
mained permanently. The sons of Henry Levens — 
Thomas, Isaiah, Otho and Bazyl — all located around 
the home of their father, and became prominent men 
in that little community; but they, and all their descen- 
dants, are gone now. 
*7 



78 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Jarrot Brickey was another of the sturdy, staunch 
pioneers, who braved the dangers of Indian massacres 
and midnight assassinations. He lived an industrious, 
respected citizen of Horse Prairie for nearly half a cen- 
tury, and during that time he was prominent in all 
those scenes which mark the pioneer times of Bandolph 
County. He was a Banger in 1812. 

His son — Preston B. Brickey — located half a mile 
north of Eed Bud, and became a respectable farmer. 
His sons — John and William — are now citizens of 
Eed Bud, and own a large flouring mill. 

1800. — Outside of Kaskaskia and Prairie du Eocher, 
the two settlements to which reference has been made 
in the preceding paragraphs, included the entire popu- 
lation of Eandolph County, at the commencement of 
the present century ; but the way was now opened, and 
new arrivals became more frequent. New settlements 
were commenced, and additions made to those already 
established, more rapidly. 

Among the first immigrants to the County, after the 
commencement of 1800, was Eobert Eeynolds, from 
Tennessee, and formerly from Ireland. After remain- 
ing in Kaskaskia a few months, he located in the set- 
tlement of Hughs and Pillars, on the east side of the 
river. He became a leading man in the new settle- 
ment, and was often elected to fill important offices in 
the county. He remained in the county upwards of 
twenty years, and then went to Madison county, where 
he died. His oldest son, John Eeynolds, became a dis- 
tinguished man in early times — was elected a Judge of 
the Supreme Court, a member of the Legislature, a 
member of Congress, Governor of the State, and is now 
more intimately known by the people than any other 
man in Illinois. He now lives in Belleville, at the age 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 79 

of sixty-three years. His brother, Thomas Keynolds, 
became a distinguished lawyer and judge. 

1801. — In 1801, Joseph Heard arrived in Kaskaskia 
and settled upon Garrison Hill. A few years after- 
ward he moved and opened a farm two and a half miles 
north of Chester, on Gravel Creek, the same that is 
now owned by J. B. Holmes, and cultivated by John 
Claupick. Heard lived here for some years, and im- 
proved his farm, and raised large crops. Hugh Heard, 
the oldest son of Joseph, settled upon a farm about two 
miles north of his father, which is yet known as the 
" Old Heard Farm." It is now occupied by Henry 
Bode. Heard occupied this farm for many years, and 
then moved away to Wisconsin. 

James Heard, the second son, located still farther 
north, and made a farm, where he lived to be an old 
man. Joseph, "William, and James Heard, now living 
in the same neighborhood, are the sons of James. 

1801.^-George Franklin came with Joseph Heard, 
and made the farm on which Lemuel Barker now lives, 
four miles east of Kaskaskia. Some years afterwards 
he moved and settled one mile east of the present loca- 
tion of Pinckneyville, in Perry County, on what is now 
known as the " Old Baldridge Farm." 

1802.— In 1802, the "Irish Settlement," near the 
mouth of Plumb Creek, was founded. James Patter- 
son, from Abbeville District, South Carolina, came with 
his family, and, branching out beyond the limits of the 
other settlement, made a permanent location at this 
place, which took its name fronrthe fact that he and 
subsequent settlers were from South Carolina — or what 
is sometimes known as " South Carolina Irish." 

James Patterson was a man of remarkable energy 
and activity, and'always stood high in the community. 



80 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

He often held the offices of Justice of the Peace and 
County Commissioner. In the ranging service of 1812, 
he bore an active part. He had four sons — John, Sam- 
uel, Eeuben, and James Harvey. John located in the 
same settlement of his father, where he lived for many- 
years, and afterwards moved to Hill Prairie, where he 
died in 1837. Samuel settled in Horse Prairie ; Eeuben 
in Hitchcock Prairie, where he now lives. James H. 
now lives upon the farm first made by his father. The 
Patterson family have always occupied a prominent 
position in the county, and are well and widely known. 

1802. — John Fulton, from Tennessee, came in 1802, 
and located in the same settlement. He was a valuable 
addition to this community — always active, and fore- 
most in whatever promised to promote the best inter. 
ests of the public. His sons — Thomas, David, and 
Cyrus — all located in the same neighborhood, where 
Thomas and Cyrus died. David lives in Marion 
County. 

1802. — William Eoberts, from Lexington, Ken- 
tucky, came in 1802, and settled on the east side of the 
Kaskaskia river, in the neighborhood of Hughs. He 
opened a farm, and in addition to this e mployment, he 
traded down the river, and became well known along 
the banks of the Mississippi, from Kaskaskia to New 
Orleans. Having spent twenty years of an eventful 
and useful life, amidst the pioneer scenes of Illinois, he 
died in 1822. 

1802. — Thomas Eoberts, son of William, who had 
nearly reached his majority at the time of coining to 
Illinois, located upon a farm near his father. He 
became a highly respected citizen as he advanced in age, 
and was often promoted to positions of importance. 
He held the office of Justice of the Peace for a long 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 81 

term of years, and was County Commissioner at vari- 
ous times. Towards the close of his life he became a 
devoted Christian, and gave his time and means lib- 
erally to the church. He died in 1858. His descen- 
dants are numerous. His sons were Thomas, Darius, 
William, John, Daniel Preston, Jacob, Wyley, Vol. 
ney, and Perry. All have families except Darius, 
who died in early life. 

1802. — Eobert Tindall came from Chester County, 
South Carolina, and settled on what is now known as 
the Fleming Farm, situated some five miles northeast 
of Chester. Here he commenced the erection of a 
water-mill, on a small stream which flows past the 
farm, but before it was completed the floods washed it 
away. He then erected a horse-mill near his residence, 
at which the settlers around were supplied with their 
breadstuff. The advantage of this mill was felt by all 
the new comers, and it was a great inducement for 
them to settle around it. Mr. Tindall was a valuable 
pioneer in the settlement, and spent a life in some useful 
employment to himself and his neighbors. 

He had four sons, two of whom are yet living — 
Eeuben and Eobert. The former is a citizen of Chester, 
and known as one of the oldest natives of Illinois. 
Eobert lives in the vicinity of Steelsville. 

1802. — John and Ephraim Bilderback came to 
Illinois in the year 1802, and located permanently. 
Ephraim made a farm in the region of the ' settlement 
on the east side of the Kaskaskia river, about one mile 
north of Edgar's — now Eiley's mill. John settled 
upon a farm which adjoins, or forms a part of the one 
now occupied by Armsted Jones. These two men 
were intelligent, active, and industrious ; and by their 
solid, substantial ability, they soon became the repre- 



82 HISTORICAL 8KETCHES 

sentative men in the little community of which they 
formed a part. 

1802. — John was in the ranging service, and dis- 
played the same traits of perseverance and bravery 
there that characterized him in the retired but equally 
responsible sphere of life. He died, leaving no descen- 
dants. 

Ephraim devoted himself to farming, almost con- 
stantly, and displayed an industry that is worthy of 
imitation. He was the father of William, Stuart, 
James, Charles, Franklin, Henry, Ephraim, Thomas, 
and John, each of whom became respectable citizens of 
the county. AYilliam located a short distance below 
the site of Liberty, near the dividing line between 
Randolph and Jackson counties, where he lived for 
many years. Stuart remained on his father's farm a 
few years, then moved away to Wisconsin. Charles 
settled near to his brother William, and died there m 
1849. Franklin lived at the old place. Ephraim went 
to Perry County, and remained a few years, but re- 
turned and made a farm on Mary's river, and remained 
until his death. Thomas lived at his father's until his 
death. John settled in Lively Prairie, where he died. 
James is still living upon a farm about four miles north 
of Chester. There are many of the descendants of 
these men now living in the county. 

1800. — Benjamin Crane, with seven sons 1 — Benja- 
min, Squire, William, James, Joel, Lewis, and John 
— came to Illinois about 1802, or probably two years 
earlier, and settled on Mary's river, about four miles 
above the mouth. These were men of decided charac- 
ter, and soon tfecame known in all the other settle- 
ments. Their traits of character were well adapted to 
a pioneer country, and their influence in advancing the 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 83 

new region in which they had decided to live, was suc- 
cessfully exerted. They were the leading men in 
settling the country around the mouth of Mary's river, 
and the Island opposite, which bears the name of 
Crane's Island. John lived upon this Island for many 
years, and died there in 1850. Joel died the same 
year. The other brothers, except Lewis, who now 
lives in California, died several years previous. James 
Harvey and Nelson E. Crane, residents of Chester, 
are sons of John Crane. 

1802. — Paul Harelston settled on the west side of 
the Kaskaskia river, in 1802, near the mouth of Camp's 
Creek. He became a very prominent man in those 
early days, and held the office of Sheriff for a short 
time. No other information could be obtained about 
him. 

Abijah Leavitt was a soldier in Col. Pike's division, 
which came to Fort Gage in 1803. He obtained a dis- 
charge from the army, and made a farm one mile back 
of Garrison Hill. He lived upon this farm until a few 
years ago, when he died. A quiet, industrious citizen, 
he enjoyed the esteem of his neighbors. The place 
wdiere he lived is now occupied by his son. 

1803. — Robert Huggins, from South Carolina, settled 
in the Irish Settlement, in 1803. He lived there some 
years, and then moved into the Oppossumden Prairie. 
James Huggins, son of Robert, settled in Flat Prairie 
about the year 1817, and made the farm which is now 
known as the " Arche McDill place." It was the first 
farm in that Prairie. The descendants of Huggins are 
now living in Perry County. 

1804. — John Lacy came to Illinois from South Caro- 
lina in 1804, and settled upon the farm which has been 
known in later years as the " Major Adair place/' H<3 



84 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

lived here some years, until his death. Major Adair 
married the widow Lacy. John Lacy, now living upon 
the same place, is a son of the pioneer. 

1804:. — In 1804, a numerous and valuable addition 
was made to the Irish Settlement at the mouth of Plumb 
Creek. John McClinton, David and James Ander- 
son, and Adam Hill, from Abbeville, South Carolina, 
with their families, numbering in the aggregate thirty- 
one members — nine of whom are yet living — arrived 
in this settlement, on the 25th day of December of that 
year. This company infused into the little settlement 
a life and activity hitherto unknown. 

John McClinton's wife died a few weeks after they 
arrived, and he died about one year after her death, 
leaving three sons — John, Samuel, and Willam — who 
were placed under the guardianship of the Hills and 
Anderson. John and William both died many years 
ago. Samuel located finally near Sparta, where he 
lived for many years, and became widely known as an 
active, respectable citizen. He died four or five years 
ago, leaving a large family. 

1804. — David Anderson, who afterwards obtained 
the title of Colonel, w T as a leading and popular man in 
the community from the time of his arrival. He was 
a strong, athletic man, very benevolent and kind in his 
disposition, and a firm friend of the church. His merit 
became known beyond the limits of his own neighbor- 
hood, and he was often called upon to fill stations of 
official trust. As Colonel of the militia he was a favo- 
rite, and displayed an ability creditable to himself and 
the high position he filled. His sons all died while 
young. His oldest daughter married Eobert G. Shan- 
non. 

1804. — James Anderson lived but a few years after 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 85 

coming to Illinois. He was noted for his retired, unas- 
• Burning disposition, and kindness of heart. He left 
five sons — James, John, William, Thomas and David, 
all of whom became respectable citizens of the county.. 
William and David are dead; the other three are still 
living. Thomas is a prominent member of the church. 

1804. — Adam Hill settled on the farm now occupied 
by Mrs. Kelly, near Evansville. Here he lived in the 
quiet pursuit of farming until his death. His sons, 
John, William, Adam, Eobert and Samuel became 
well known citizens of the county. William is now 
living in Marion county. John, Adam and Robert are 
dead. Samuel is living near the old place of his father,. 
a kind, sociable citizen. 

1804. — The Irish Settlement was increased by another 
party of emigrants from Abbeville, South Carolina, 
during the same year, or in the commencement of the 
year following. Absalom Cox, James and Archibald 
Thompson, William McBride and Robert McDonald, 
were the leaders of this party. 

Absalom Cox was elected in later years a Captain 
of a militia company. He was an important member 
of the community, and lived a useful life. He estab- 
lished a ferry across the Kaskaskia river, which is 
known to this day as " Cox's Ferry." He died on the 
farm where he settled, leaving four sons : — John, Wil- 
liam, Thomas and Absalom. 

John is now an old man living upon his father's farm. 
William lives adjoining the same place. Thomas and 
Absalom are dead. 

1804. — James Thompson located upon a farm in this 
settlement, and lived the life of an industrious, respect- 
able citizen. He was a man of patriotic feelings, and 
his countrv never called for his services without a 
8 



86 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

ready response. His sons were Robert and Archi- 
bald ; the latter died in youth. 

Robert lived on Plumb Creek, where he died in 1830. 
His sons were James B., John B., Andrew and Robert. 
The former two are living in the settlement of their 
father and grandfather; the latter two are dead. 

1804 — Archibald Thompson was a man of excellent 
character, and a very efficient member of the com- 
munity. He lived some years in the settlement where 
he first located, and then moved, in the year 1812, to a 
place two miles south of the present town of Evans- 
ville. Reaching an advanced age, ho died in 1833. 
His sons were Robert, "William, Moses, Archibald, 
John and James. Robert lived upon the farm, made 
by his father until he grew to be an old man, and died 
only a few weeks since. William settled two and a 
half miles south of Preston, where he still resides. 
Moses settled about 1816 on the farm now occupied by 
John M. Thompson. 

He afterwards moved to St. Clair County, and died 
there in 1846. Archibald went to Hitchcock Prairie 
in 1822 , and lived there until his death, in 1856. His 
descendants are living in the same neighborhood. 
John Thompson became a prominent man in the county. 
He was once County Commissioner. In 1836 he Avas 
elected a member of the Legislature, and died during 
the session of that body. James Thompson, the young- 
est of the brothers, lived upon his father's farm until 
he died, in 1835. 

1804. — William McBride was a valuable constituent 
of the Irish Settlement. lie labored much, and lived 
in a manner which rendered him a favorite in the com- 
munity. He was somewhat advanced in age when he 
eame, but he endured the privations of pioneer life very 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 87 

well. He died in 1818. His sons, Thomas — who had a 
family when they came, John and William, settled 
around their father, and were industrious, highly es- 
teemed citizens. They are all dead now. Thomas left 
two sons — William and John. The former lives in 
Washington ' County ; the latter on the old place. 
William McBride was Captain of a militia company 
in 1813, and once held the office of County Commis- 
sioner. Mrs. Wilson, now living in Chester, is the only 
surviving one of John McBride's family. 

1804. — Robert McDonough remained in the settle- 
ment until his death. His family then moved away, 
and none of his descendants are now in the county. 

1804. — In the same year — 1804 — Samuel Cochran 
located upon the land which is now known as the 
"Haskin farm." He was far out from the settlement 
at that time, and lived somewhat secluded, yet he was 
very sociable, and fond of company. He was an 
influential and popular man, and held several impor- 
tant offices. He died in Jackson County, in 1824. His 
sons were John, William, George, Alexander and 
Elisiia. John improved a farm near the Bilderbacks, 
and lived upon it until his death. William settled, 
lived and died upon the farm on which Joseph Hardin 
now resides, one mile northwest of Chester. Mrs. 
VanZant, now living in Chester at an advanced age, is 
the daughter of Samuel Cochran. George moved 
to Jackson County, and there became a very prominent 
man. The other brothers also went to Jackson County. 
They were noted for their exploits in hunting. 

1804. — About this time a man by the name of Ems- 
ley Jones settled in the region of Liberty. Another 
man named Reed had settled in the same neighborhood. 
Jones and Reed got into a quarrel, which finally re- 



88 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

suited in Jones killing Beed, for which crime he was 
hung, in Kaskaskia. This was the first execution upon 
the gallows in .Randolph County. A short time after- 
wards, an Indian was hung for murdering a white man. 
These are the only two instances where capital punish- 
ment has been resorted to within the limits of the 
county since it had an existence, and it is earnestly 
hoped that such a proceeding will never again blacken 
her fair fame. If, however, the necessity should occur, 
her courts must yield obedience to the requirements of 
imperative laws. 

1805. — Alexander Barber came in 1805 from Ohio. 
He first settled near the Bilderbacks, on the east side 
of the Kaskaskia river. Being a man of strong native 
intellect, a clear judgment, and robust constitution, he 
took a leading position among the other stalwart char- 
acters of the settlement in which he located. His 
employment was farming, but, as the settlements in- 
creased, he was engaged in building mills. Skilled in 
this branch of business, and possessing great energy, 
he was a very useful man in the new country, and did 
much for its advancement. About the year 1825, he 
located on the farm where he now resides, two miles 
north of Liberty. Here he erected a mill; and he has 
been engaged with mills nearly ever since. The name 
of Barber sua-gests the idea of a mill. More than 
forty years ago he was elected a Justice of the Peace — 
a position for which Nature seems to have designed 
him — and he still holds the office, having filled it during 
all that time without intermission. There is probably 
no man in Illinois who has held that office so long, and 
probably no man that ever filled the office whose official 
acts have given such general satisfaction. A few 
months more and he will have attained his fourscore 



OP RANDOLPH COUNTY. 89 

years, yet he retains his intellectual faculties in their 
vigor and brightness. He has fifty-four years of the 
history of this county fresh in his memory. He be- 
longs to a generation past, but lives yet as a noble 
specimen of his compeers. 

Alexander Clark was another of those who came 
in 1805. He located three miles south of the present 
town of Evansville. How long he remained, or what 
position he occupied, could not be learned. 

1805. — Joseph Lively came, in 1805, from Abbeville, 
South Carolina, and settled the Seymour farm, three 
miles north of Kaskaskia. He lived upon the farm until 
1823, when he moved and settled in the lower end of 
Oppossumden Prairie. He moved the next year and 
settled upon the place where Judge John Camprell 
resides. He was active, industrious, and benevolent. 
He died in 1833. His sons were Amos, Shadrack, 
Enoch, Eichard, James, and Eeuben, who have be- 
come well known to the people of the county, and 
from whom a numerous descendancy has sprung. 
They were farmers, generally, and good neighbors. 
Some of them are yet living, though old men. 

1805. — John Lively a brother of Joseph, who came 
at the same time, settled in the Prairie northeast of 
the Irish Settlement, from which circumstance the 
prairie has been called "Lively Prairie." He was the 
pioneer of that part of the county, and sustained his posi- 
tion in a mariner which excites sentiments of pride in his 
descendants. He lived in this prairie during his life, 
which closed in 1826. Eeuben Lively, who lives near 
Athens, in St. Clair County, is the oldest son of John 
Lively. His other sons were James, Turner, William 
and Hugh P. — the latter was accidentally killed by the 
falling of a tree. Turner and William are residents of 
*8 



90 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

the prairie where their father lived. James is dead. 

1806. — In the year 1806, G-eorge Wilson and Samuel 
Crozier, from Abbeville, South Carolina, arrived in the 
county. George Wilson settled on Plumb Creek 
near the forks. From there he went to the mouth of 
Dozar Creek, and remained until 1812, when he moved 
into the Fort. He lived in the Fort for some years after 
the settlers had returned to their homes. In 1827 he 
moved into Hitchcock Prairie, and lived there until his 
death in 1857. Mr. Wilson was a man in whom were 
blended all those noble traits of character which dis- 
tinguished the early pioneers — high-minded, generous, 
brave. Through his long life he maintained a high 
position among his neighbors, and though he had 
reached the age of seventy-five when he died, his death 
was a loss felt by the community. His sons are John 
A., George, William L., James and Andrew. John A. 
Wilson has filled the office of Sheriff of the county, and 
is now the Mayor of the city of Sparta. George lives 
upon the old place of his father. William L. is a 
citizen of Chester. James lives near the old place in 
the prairie. 

1806. — Samuel Crozier opened a farm on Nine Mile 
Creek, two miles south of the location of Evansville. 
He was a man of high intellectual abilities, sociable 
and benevolent. He rose to position and influence 
without an effort. In 1827 he was chosen a member of 
the Legislature. He died in 1831. His sons were 
John, James, Andrew, Archibald and Samuel B. 
John Crozier settled upon the site of Red Bud in 
Horse Prairie, in 1824. He was the father of Samuel 
Crozier who was one of the founders, and a highly 
esteemed citizen of Bed Bud, and who died a few weeks 
ago: also James, who is still living in that town, and 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 91 

Thomas. The brothers of John Crozier became citi- 
zens of the county, and lived in it until they died. The 
Crozier family has always sustained a very respectable 
position in the community. 

Mr. Mansker, father of Samuel Mansker, made a 
settlement on Liberty Island, in 1806, but the farm he 
made washed away in a few years, and he removed. 
Samuel Mansker settled upon the farm where he now 
lives in the same year that his father located upon the 
Island. He has been a sturdy, persevering and respect- 
able citizen. 

1807. — John Campbell, from Abbeville, South Caro- 
lina, settled near the mouth of Nine Mile Creek, in 1807, 
He lived upon that place until 1820, when he moved to 
a place four miles east of Evansville, and died there in 
1827. His life was that of an unassuming, retired and 
respectable citizen. His sons, John, Samuel, Archi- 
bald and James all settled in the neighborhood of their 
father. 

1807. — During the year 1807, John Taggart, from 
South Carolina, came to the county. He remained for 
some time about Kaskaskia, finally joined the ranging 
service, and after receiving his discharge he settled 
upon the farm where he now resides, about nine miles 
north of Chester. Amos Taggart, who live3 on the 
Chester and Sparta road, is a son of John. 

18 )7. — Daniel Taggart, brother of John, came from 
South Carolina at the same time. He was also in the 
ranging service, and after the company was disbanded 
he located upon a farm near his brother. His sons are 
John, William, Amos and Daniel, all ofwliom are liv- 
ing in the neighborhood of their father. 

18 )7.— John Steele, from Tennessee, came to the 
county in 1807. Possessing a remarkable degree of 



92 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

self-reliance and courage, he passed beyond the limits 
of the settlements already made, and located near 
where Steelesville now stands. Here he formed the 
nucleus of a settlement, which increased rapidly. Dur- 
ing his long life he displayed the same energy in every 
undertaking as he had done in establishing this settle- 
ment. He was a man of sterling worth — a noble speci- 
men of the pioneers. His sons were George, Archi- 
bald, James, John, and Thomas, from whom the 
numerous family bearing their name, living around 
Steelesville, have descended. G-eorge Steele was the 
founder of Georgetown, since called Steelesville, and 
the proprietor of Steele's Mills, a point widely known 
in early times. He was a man of enterprising energy, 
and a very useful citizen. He was the father of James 
and Thomas Steele. 

Archibald Steele, the second son of the pioneer, 
opened a farm one-half mile southwest of Steelesville, 
and lived there until his death, a few months ago. In- 
heriting the characteristics of his father, he was a lead- 
ing, influential member of the community in which he 
lived. He was the father of Anthony, Jefferson, 
Rilen, Merrit, Jasper, and Lindsay. Anthony now 
holds the office of Sheriff. 

James Steele remained a citizen of the county until 
1849, when he moved away to Iowa. John and 
Thomas are living near Steelesville. 

1808. — In this year, one of the most remarkable 
pioneers that figured in the county, came and settled 
about three miles south of Steelesville. That man was 
Jacob Bowerman. Decision of character was a lead- 
ing trait, and shone out in all his operations. He was 
a representative man, and filled the position of a leader 
with marked ability. His ingenuity was unbounded. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 93 

He was master of almost every trade, and from the 
fertility of his genius he could manufacture guns, 
though he never served an apprenticeship to the trade. 
As a marksman, with the rifle he had no superior. He 
lived on the farm where he first settled only a short 
time, then opened the farm on which Archibald 
Steele lived during life, and afterwards settled upon 
the farm, on the western side of Steelesville, which is 
known as the " old Bowerman place." He had four 
sons — Jonathan, Jesse, Michael, and William — 
three of whom are yet living — Jesse being dead. 
Jonathan resides in Jackson county; Michael lives 
three miles south of Steelesville ; and William lives 
three miles north of the same place. 

1808. — In this year, another addition was made to 
the Irish Settlement. Eobert Foster and John An- 
derson arrived from South Carolina, Abbeville Dis- 
trict, having made that long journey on horseback. 
Foster first located near the settlement of Miller and 
McCormack, where James and George McCormack 
now live. He afterwards moved on to Plumb Creek, 
and erected a steam distillery and a horse-mill. With 
this appendage to the settlement, inducements were 
offered to immigrants which brought many to it. Fos- 
ter's mill was the center of attraction — the place for 
all public gatherings, musters, &c. Mr. Foster, as his 
works indicate, was a man for the times — enterprising, 
determined, and accommodating. Possessing a practi- 
cal judgment, his efforts were directed to such projects 
as promised to advance the public interests. He was 
sometimes called to fill official stations, which he did 
with high satisfaction. He was a devoted friend of the 
church, and a Christian in the fullest sense of the term. 
He died in 1831. His sons were Samuel, John, James 



94 HISTORICAL 8KETCHES 

A., William, and David. Samuel died in Sparta, 
some years ago. John died before Samuel. James A. 
Foster was one of the founders of* Sparta, and he has 
been a successful merchant of that place for many 
years. David and William Foster reside near 
Sparta. 

1808, — John Anderson settled near the farm of his 
brother, Col. Anderson, and there lived until his death. 
He was a faithful friend of the church, and filled the 
office of ruling elder from the time the church was or- 
ganized until his death, in which position he acted well 
his part. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for 
a great number of years. 

1808. — A Mr. Henderson, from South Carolina, came 
in 1808, and settled upon the farm now occupied by 
James Walsh, on the western side of the Kaskaskia 
river, at Evansville. 

1808. — John Clendenin, from Green county, Ken- 
tucky, came to Illinois in 1808, and settled upon the 
farm which for a long time was known by the name of 
the " Porter place," now an addition to Chester. He 
was a revolutionary soldier, and an excellent represent- 
ative of that class of brave, patriotic men. It is related 
of him, that once while guarding some prisoners, a lady 
came and asked of him permission to see her brother, 
who was a prisoner. Too gallant to refuse the lady the 
privilege of seeing her brother, and confiding in her 
integrity, he divested himself of his uniform and 
loaned it to her. She put it on, made the visit to her 
brother, and returned it to him according to her prom- 
ise. This incident is a mirror which reflects the noble 
character of the man. His life among the pioneers 
was that of a high-minded, honorable, industrious citi- 
zen — and to which his descendants may revert with 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 95 

sentiments of pride. James, Henry, John, and Harvey 
Clendenin, who have filled so large a space in the his- 
tory of Randolph County, were his sons; all of whom 
were approaching manhood when they arrived in Illi- 
nois. James Clendenin opened the farm where Har- 
vey Lemons now lives, and afterwards moved to the 
neighborhood of Liberty, where he died, in 1851. He 
was the father of Simpson and John H. Clendenin. 

Henry Clendenin died in early life, leaving no 
familv. 

John Clendenin is yet living, having spent fifty-one 
years of his life amidst the scenes and events of Ran- 
dolph County! He is the father of James Harvey, 
and Henry Simpson Clendenin. 

Harvey Clendenin became a prominent man in the 
county, and filled the Office of County Commissioner, 
in which position he distinguished himself as a man of 
sound judgment and clear discrimination. He was the 
father of Ephraim R., John C, Samuel, Harvey, and 
Henry Clendenin, who have become well known citi- 
zens of the county. 

1808. — Richard Robbison came from South Carolina, 
in 1808, and first settled in the Bilderback Settlement, 
but afte wards he moved into the region of the Steele 
Settlement. Here he lived and raised a large family. 
His sons are John, Joseph, Richard, James, Shadrack, 
William, Thomas, and Jefferson, from whom the 
numerous family of that name now living in the county 
have descended. 

1808. — Andrew McCormack settled in the Bilder- 
back settlement in the year 1808. His sons, James 
and George, live in the same neighborhood where their 
father located. 

1808. — John Miller settled in the same neighbor- 
hood about the same time. 



96 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

1808. — James White came from South Carolina in 
1808, and settled on the hills one-half mile north of the 
road from Chester to Steelesville, where the road 
crosses Mary's river. 

1808. — Augustus Davis first settled, in 1808, near 
Kaskaskia, and afterwards moved to the Steele Settle- 
ment. Some of his descendants are still living in the 
county. 

1808. — William Barnett came from Kentucky, and 
located in the Irish Settlement. He was a man of in- 
dustrious habits, retired disposition, yet bold and firm 
when necessity required it. He died in 1818. His sons 
were John and William Barnett. John lived upon his 
father's farm, and reared a large family. William M., 
Alexander C, Samuel, Corrydon and John Barnett 
were his sons. Corrydon is the only one now living. 

William, the second son of the pioneer, was drowned. 
He was out in the campaign against the Indians in 
1813, and when returning home, having reached Plumb 
creek, only two miles distant from his father's house, he 
was drowned. 

1809. — John Beatte was added to the Irish Settle- 
ment in 1809. He was from Abbeville, South Carolina, 
and became a valuable citizen in the community. He 
was retired and very quiet, yet a man of much force 
and decision of character. John, Andrew and Charles 
Beatte were his sons. John and Andrew died several 
years ago, leaving large families. Charles is still liv- 
ing. 

1809. — Chesley Allen, from Virginia, settled in 
Horse Prairie, in 1809, and formed the nucleus for a 
settlement in that region of the county. He was a man 
possessing all the qualifications of a pioneer leader, and 
left a memory revered and esteemed by his neighbors. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 97 

His sons were James, John, Albert, William and 
Miner, who became highly respected citizens of that 
prairie. John W. Allen, now a citizen of Eed Bud, is 
the son of James Allen j and James E. Allen, a mer- 
chant of the same place, is the son of John Allen. 

1809. — Ealeigh Ealls, settled in Horse Prairie about 
the same time of Allen. He came from Virginia, and 
brought with him the characteristics of a Virginia gen- 
tleman. Edward and John Ealls who became promi- 
nent citizens of that prairie were his sons. John was 
known as a pioneer preacher, and he filled the duties of 
that sacred office until his death, in 1857. James M. 
Ealls, who is Clerk of the Circuit Court, is a son of 
Rev. John Ealls. 

1809. — Edward Faherty located on the southern 
border of Horse Prairie in 1809, and lived there, a 
highly respected citizen, until his death. Patrick and 
John Faherty, now living in the prairie, are his sons. 

180ft. — This year came Ezra Owens and Thomas J. 
V., his son, w T ho settled in the Dr. Fisher neighborhood. 
Owens became a prominent man. He was chosen 
Major of the militia, and filled the office with credita- 
ble ability. His son Thomas J. Y. Owens filled the 
office of Sheriff at one time, and was a member of the 
Legislature. 

During the period of ten years, from 1800, through 
which the arrival of the settlers have been faithfully 
chronicled, according to the best available data, no 
event occurred of special moment. From this time, 
however, commenced the Indian troubles which con- 
tinued until after the close of the war of 1812. Fortu- 
nately, however, for the infant settlements of this 
county, they were free from those midnight butcheries 

which were visited upon the setnements in other por- 
9 



£ 



7 



98 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

tions of the surrounding country. In Washington 
County the family of John Lively — a relative of those 
of that name who had settled in this county — fell vic- 
tims to savage barbarity. One afternoon, when all the 
family but two were gathered within the cabin, the 
Indians came, brutally murdered every one in the house, 
and then set fire to it, and consumed the freshly made 
corpses with the timbers of the building. As no one 
present was left to tell the particulars of this horrible 
tragedy, they have never been known. A son of Mr. 
Lively — William — who was then a small boy, was 
out at the time of the murder, hunting horses. On re- 
turning he discovered the flames and smoke rising from 
his father's cabin, and fearing lest the sad reality was 
true, he went away to a neighbor's house and gave the 
information of what he had seen. They Avent and found 
only the crisped and charred forms of their friends 
smouldering in the ashes of the cabin. William and 
Jane, a little girl, who happened to be visiting some of 
her little friends in the neighborhood, escaped the ter- 
rible fate of their parents, and brothers and sisters, and 
are yet living. William is one of the oldest citizens 
in Washington County. Jane married William Cau- 
dle, of this county and is the mother of a large family, 
and still living at an extreme old age. 

From 1810, until after the close of the war of 1812, 
there was but little emigration to the county, and but 
little advancement of any kind. There was but one 
arrival in 1811 — that of Michael Harmon, an emi- 
grant from Tennessee. He explored the country around 
Kaskaskia, and decided to settle in the region now 
known as the " Harmon Settlement." He returned to 
Tennessee and brought out his family. In the ensuing 
fall he died, leaving his seven sons to maintain the 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 99 

ground he had claimed, for cultivation. They all set- 
tled around the place where their father died, and gave 
to the region an importance which attracted attention 
at the time, and which is well known over the county 
yet. Five of the sons of the pioneer are yet living — 
Joseph, Abraham, George, John, and James — and 
around them live their children and grandchildren. 
This is probably the most densely populated of any 
settlement now in the county. Twenty-two years ago, 
a Methodist society was organized in the settlement, by 
Eev. Lopez, and has been an institution ever since, 
under the supervision of the Southern Illinois Confer- 
ence. In 1855, a church edifice was completed and 
christened " Palestine Church. " 

"With Harmon's family came John Young, who 
located upon the farm now occupied by Mr. Hargus, in 
the region of Ellis' Grove. Stephen Young, living in 
the same neighborhood, is a son of John Young. 

1812. — In 1812, William Nelson, (an Irishman by 
birth,) from Abbeville, South Carolina, settled on 
Horse Creek. He was a man of enterprising habits, 
and erected a distillery, which gave to his place an 
attractive importance. He became a prominent man, 
and held the office of County Commissioner, and was 
Justice of the Peace for a long term of years. He 
died in 1844, upwards of seventy years of age. He 
had four sons — John G., Isaac, William, Eobert, and 
Wilson — all of whom (except the last one,) became 
citizens of the county. John G. Nelson was often 
elected Justice of the Peace, and at one time was elected 
County Commissioner. He died in 1852. Isaac H. 
Nelson, Clerk of the County Court, is a son of John 
G. Nelson. Isaac is still living upon the old place of 
his father, having filled the office of Justice of the 



100 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Peace for many years. William and Eobert settled, 
lived, and died close by the farm where their father 
settled. 

1812. — Hugh Leslie came from Abbeville, South 
Carolina, with Nelson; Samuel, and Matthew Leslie, 
living in Hill Prairie, are his sons. 

During the year 1812, the hostility of the Indians 
rendered it necessary for all the settlements to seek 
protection in the Forts. A block house, or fort, was 
erected in some central position in all the principal set- 
tlements. One was erected in the Irish Settlement, of 
convenient size to accommodate all the settlers. An- 
other one was erected in Dr. Fisher's neighborhood; 
another at Georgetown; another at Jacob Bowerman's. 
The settlers on the east side of the Kaskaskia river took 
refuge in Fort Gage. The people abandoned their pri 
vate houses, and quartered in these forts, living as one 
family, adopting for the time being something of a com- 
munity system. The men pursued their ordinary busi- 
ness, but never left the forts without their guns. They 
were sometimes attacked while in the field at work, 
but no instance of a murder has been found. 

1814. — James and Samuel Thomson, from Abbeville, 
South Carolina, arrived at Kaskaskia in 1814. They 
were both young men. James taught school in Kas- 
kaskia three years, then located upon the farm where 
he now resides. He was skilled in surveying, and was 
employed for twenty years in the United States Sur- 
veying Service, and has in late years filled the office of 
County Surveyor, several terms; and he is now the 
chief deputy in that office, with its full control and 
management. He commanded a company of militia in 
the Black Hawk war. Under Governor Eeynold's 
administration he was appointed Judge of the Probate 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 101 

Court, in which position he continued daring seventeen 
successive years. In all these stations he discharged 
his duties in a manner that Avon universal satisfaction. 
His profession is that of a surveyor j and whenever the 
name of James Thompson is mentioned, the idea of 
surveying is suggested. His foot has probably made 
its impress upon every section of land in Randolph 
county. John P. Thompson, who died in 1851, while 
holding the office of Sheriff, was the oldest son of 
James Thompson. 

Samuel Thompson, brother of James, was also a 
Surveyor, and often held that office in the county. He, 
too, was employed in the United States Surveying Ser- 
vice for many years. He died about the year 1848, 
leaving a large and respectable family. 

1814. — William and John Allen, from Georgia to 
Ohio, from whence they came to Illinois, in 1814, settled 
adjoining the Irish Settlement. They were upright, 
honorable men, and highly esteemed by the community- 
William died at North's Ferry, on the Kaskaskia river, 
about the year 1840. John died five years later. 
Aaron M. Allen, a prominent merchant of Sparta, is 
the son of John Allen. 

1815. — Alexander Gaston, from Kentucky, settled 
upon the John McFarland place in 1815. He was 
succeeded by his son, Alexander, who lived and died 
upon the same place. 

1810. — Andrew Eatiders came to the Irish Settle- 
ment in 1810. He was then a young man, full of hope 
and vigor. He lived for a time with Eobert Foster, 
and attended his distillery. Afterwards he located 
upon the farm where he now lives. Possessing a 
strong, robust constitution, a vigorous mind, and clear 

judgment, he has been the leader of his neighborhood; 
*9 



102 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

and by his industry, economy and cautiousness in tra- 
ding, lie lias become very wealthy. 

1816. — Thomas Mudd, from Kentucky, came in 
1816, with seven sons — James, Francis, Edward, 
Joseph, Phelix, John, and William — all of whom 
settled on the high lands in the prairie back of Prairie 
du Eoeher. This family has always occupied a very 
respectable position in this county. Three of the seven 
brothers are yet living — Edward, (who lives in Iowa,) 
Francis and John live where they settled forty-two 
years ago. William Mudd, who is an Associate Jus- 
tice of the County Court, is a son of James Mudd. 
The family has become very numerous. 

1816. — Samuel Crawford, from Tennessee, came in 
1816. His residence was transient until 1819, when he 
settled in the lower end of Oppossumden Prairie. He 
became a popular man, and was often promoted to 
official stations. He held the office of Justice of the 
Peace, was Receiver of Public Monies in the Land 
Office, at Kaskaskia, and served one session in the Leg- 
islature. His sons were James H., Hugh M.. William, 
Stace, and John. James lives in Galena. Hugh in 
Camptown, and William in Florence ; Stace and 
John both died in California. Hugh and William 
have held the office of Justice of the Peace. 

1816. — William Fowler came from South Carolina, 
and made the farm on which Abram Harmon, Si*., now 
lives. He was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and 
a zealous patriot. When he died, in 1846, his death was 
deeply regretted by those who had an opportunity of 
appreciating his worth. He had three sons, only two 
of whom came to this county — James and Washing- 
ton. James lived near his father some years, and then 
moved to Perrv Count v. His two sons, William and 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 103 

John, became citizens of this county, and died here — 
the former in 1856, the latter in 1859. Washington 
lived and died in the neighborhood where his father 
settled. His children live around the old place. 

1816. — John Layne came from Tennessee, and settled 
near Georgetown, where he died. Elisha Layne, now 
living in Chester, is the only son of John Layne now 
in the county. 

1816. — James Slater settled near the residence of 
Hughs in this year, and lived there until his death. 
Joseph Slater, living in the same neighborhood, is the 
only son now remaining in the county. 

1816. — In this year, Cornelius Adkins made a set- 
tlement in the lower end of Short's Prairie. He re- 
mained there many years. 

1816. — Benjamin Brown settled in the Bradley neigh- 
borhood. How long he remained here, or whether his 
descendants are in the county, could not be ascertained. 

1816. — In the same year, Emanuel Caxady came 
from Tennessee, and settled near the Steeles. He 
afterwards moved to the Bradley settlement, where he 
still resides. Though he has passed through the priva- 
tions of pioneer life, and reached an old age, he is still 
strong and active. 

1817. — In 1817, the Bradley family settled in the 
region of Shiloh, and opened the way for the 
ment of that part of the county. Each member of 
this family was a tower of strength within himself. 
In all those enterprises, whether civil or military, 
which interested the public, the name of Bradley was 
conspicuous. James, Franklin, AVilliam and Eichard 
Bradley are now the representatives of the family, and 
are old men. Their descendants are numerous. 

1817. — Egbert Mann came to the county in 1817,- 



104 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

and opened a farm near the Irish Settlement, where he 
lived until his death. Such was his character that his 
descendants, who have risen to high positions, may 
regard him with feelings of pleasure. His sons are 
John, William, Robert, and Alexander. John came 
to the county some years after his father, and lives five 
miles northwest of Chester. He once held the office 
of Judge of County Commissioner's Court, from which 
met the appellation of " Judge" has been given him, 
and by that title he is well known. He is the father of 
a large and respectable family. William Mann still 
lives near the place where his father settled, and has 
his children around him, who are active members in 
the community. Egbert Mann has filled several im- 
portant offices — was an officer in a company of militia 
that went out in the Black Hawk campaign, once 
represented the county in the Legislature, and filled 
the office of School Commissioner. Alexander Mann 
lives upon the old place made by his father. 

1817. — Colonel Gabriel Jones, from Adair County, 
Kentucky, came in the year 1817, and settled on the 
farm one mile west of Steelesville, which is widely 
known as the " old Col. Jones place/' His talents, 
energy, activity, and high sense of honor, placed him 
forward as a leader, and he became a prominent actor 
in all the public matters of those times. In the Black 
Hawk war he was promoted to the position of Colonel, 
and he distinguished himself as an able officer and gal- 
lant soldier. He has represented the county in the 
General Assembly, and filled other offices of responsible 
trust. He is now the flavor of the city of Chester, 
and holds the office of Justice of the Peace. Though 
he hfls reached the sere of life, he is yet active and vig- 
orous 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 105 

1817. — Ignatius Sprigg, an emigrant from Maryland, 
settled in the American Bottom, between Kaskaskia 
and Prairie du Roeher, on the Rector farm, in 1817. 
He was another of the sound, practical, honorable 
minded pioneers, and the people often testified their 
appreciation of his worth by electing him to positions 
of responsible trust — first to the office of County 
Treasurer, and next to that of Sheriff, which he held 
during a period of ten years. He is now a citizen of 
Arkansas, engaged in the United States Surveying Ser- 
vice. 

1817. — James and Henry O'Hara came to the 
county in this year, and settled in the region where 
James iiow t lives. Both of these men have occupied 
positions of official trust, and stand high in the estima- 
tion of the people. They are both still living, having 
attained an old age. The settlement where they live 
has taken their name, and assumed a position of note 
and importance. St. Patrick's Church was organized 
in this settlement some years ago, and in 1853, a church 
building was erected under the supervision of Father 
Hane. Father Gifford, a very old man, is now the 
officiating priest. 

1817. — Curtis Coon came to Kaskaskia about the 
year 1817. He was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, 
and had spent several years in the West Indies engaged 
in heavy commercial transactions. After remaining a 
year in Kaskaskia he purchased and settled upon the 
Haskin farm two miles southwest of Chester. His 
talents were of a high order, and he possessed an 
energy and business qualifications which peculiarly 
fitted him for public office. He filled the office of Judge 
of the Probate Court for a term of years, and his offi- 
cial acts in that Court were usually regarded with high 



106 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

satisfaction. In every station where lie presided he 
was a model. 

1817. — Daniel Alexander, from Maine, came to the 
county in 1817. For a time he worked at the mouth 
of Okaw j then purchased a farm in the Hughs settle- 
ment, which he afterwards sold to Charles Stratton. 
Some years ago he went to Texas, and was murdered 
there. 

1817. — James McFarland came from South Caro- 
lina and settled on the west fork of Mary's river, near 
the Kaskaskia road, and lived there until his death. 
Andrew McFarland, who lives in the same neighbor- 
hood, is the only surviving son of James McFarland. 

1817. — Samuel Xisbet from South Carolina, made a 
settlement one mile east of Eden, in 1817. He was an 
industrious, honorable man, and a firm friend of the 
church. But few men ever possessed the faculties of en- 
during the privations of a pioneer country more than 
he. He is still living. 

1817. — William Morris, from Ohio, settled in the 
Oppossumden Prairie in 1817. His son lives upon the 
same place. 

1817. — In this year, or shortly afterwards, Gwin, 
Barrows, Houseman and some others, settled in the 
Bradly Settlement. They were valuable additions to 
that community, and men of high character. Their 
descendants are numerous and respectable. 

1817. — Henry Will settled upon the point of the 
bluff above Kaskaskia in 1817. His character was 
that of an industrious farmer and good neighbor. His 
son, Daniel Will, now lives upon the same place. 
Around this point an important settlement was formed, 
and a church organization was made several years 
ago. 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 107 

1818. — Joseph and Thomas Orr, from Virginia, set- 
tled in the O'Hara neighborhood in 1818. Joseph 
was chosen Major of a militia regiment, which post he 
filled with creditable ability. He was an early citizen 
of Sparta, and died in that place in 1850. Thomas 
moved to Pike County in 1829. 

1818. — Benedict Harrel was added to the O'Hara 
Settlement in 1818; Cornelius and Thomas Harrel 
now living in the same neighborhood are his sons. 

1818. — John Brewer, another emigrant from Ken- 
tucky, came to the O'Hara Settlement in 1818. He 
brought with him six sons — Thomas, Felix, Vincent, 
George, Pius, and John, all of whom became impor- 
tant constituents of the community. John once filled 
the office of County Commissioner, and is now a Justice 
of the Peace. 

1818. — The Hull family arrived in the O'Hara set- 
tlement in 1818. They were from Kentucky — four 
brothers — Norton, Samuel, Lewis, and Thomas. Nor- 
ton Hull was a conspicuous man, having conferred 
upon him the office of Captain of a militia companj^. 
He and his brother Samuel died where they located. 
Thomas and Lewis died in Pike County. 

1818. — In this year, Eev. Silas Crisler, from Boone 

. County, Kentucky, arrived in Illinois, and made a farm 

six miles east of Kaskaskia, not far from the Harmon 

Settlement. Possessing strong natural faculties, a 

large amount of kindness and generosity, and some 

eccentricity, he became widely known, and highly 

/-esteemed. Much of his time was devoted to his sacred 

calling. Gravel Creek Church, of which he was the 

founder and pastor for many years, was among the first 

.Baptist churches in Illinois. He died in 1851. His 

three sons — Abel, Leonard and John are all living, 



108 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

having been highly respected citizens of the county dar- 
ing life. 

1818. — Amasa Aldrich, a native of Worcester Coun- 
ty, Massachusetts, came to Kaskaskia, in 1818. He 
remained a few years, and then located upon a farm 
two miles north of Chester, in a region around which 
there were no settlements near. He was the pioneer 
of his settlement. In 1853 he died, having lived to see 
the country around changed from a wild into a thickly 
settled and highly cultivated district. 

1819. — Alexander Campbell, from Tennessee, came 
to the Irish Settlement in 1819. He remained here a 
few years, then removed to a farm near the Bowerman 
Settlement. He was a quiet, good, industrious citizen, 
and died in 1827, leaving a large family. His sons 
were Edward, John, Andrew, William and Alexan- 
der. The latter three are dead. Edward lives near 
his father's old place. Has been County Commissioner 
and Justice of the Peace. In 1838, John Campbell 
was elected to the office of Sheriff, and continued in 
that position ten successive years; was afterwards 
elected Judge of the County Court, then Sheriff again; 
and he now holds the office of Judge of the County 
Court. 

1819. — Eli Short was an emigrant from Kentucky. 
He settled on the eastern edge of the prairie which 
bears his name, and lived there until his death, in 1844. 
He was a soldier in the war of is 12, having enlisted 
in a Kentucky regiment, and was at the celebrated bat- 
tle of Tippecanoe, where he received a wound, from 
which he never fully recovered. He drew a pension as 
long as he lived. Seeing the want of Gospel ministers 
in the new country, he commenced preaching, and con- 
Led to discharge the duties of his holy office until he 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 109 

died. His oldest son, Abraham, remained in Ken- 
tucky, and died there. Three others came with him to 
Illinois. Denard Short settled near his father, and 
died in 1830. John is still living, and occupies a farm 
two miles east of Steelesville. Jefferson Short went 
out in the campaign against the Indians in the Black 
Hawk war, and was killed. 

1819. — David Hathorn came from Ohio, and settled 
first near the present location of Evansville. In 1825, 
he located in the southern end of Oppossumden Prai- 
rie, where he remained until his death. He was a good 
citizen, and bore the part of a high-minded, generous 
man. His sons were Samuel, James, Thomas, David, 
and William, of whom James alone is living. 

1819. — James Baird, from Ohio, came in 1819, and 
settled the place three miles south of Sparta, now occu- 
pied by Alexander Wylie. In his younger days he 
was strong, athletic, and a leading man. He is now in 
the sere of life, and his friends are as numerous as his 
acquaintances. One of his sons, John Baird, is Judge 
of the County Court of Perry County. 

1819. — Adanljah Ball made a settlement upon Eock 
Castle Creek, in 1819 — penetrating a little farther into 
the wilderness. He lived and died in that region. One 
of his sons, Franklin Ball, became a prominent man, 
and once represented the county in the General Assem- 
bly. He died in 1856. 

1819. — Arthur Parks came out from Kentucky in 

the spring of 1819, and cultivated a crop during the 

summer. In the fall he returned and brought his 

family. He made a farm on the eastern end of Lively 

Prairie, where he spent the remainder of his life, which 

closed in 1814. Possessed of a strong, practical mind, 

and discriminating judgment, he was a man in whom 
10 



HO HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

the people placed confidence. He once held the office 
of County Commissioner, and was a Justice of the 
Peace for a great number of years. He had eight sons, 
four of whom are now citizens of the county; James, 
B. Parks, of Sparta, who has held the office of County 
Surveyor; John Parks, of Chester; Arthur and Al- 
fred, who live upon the farm of their father. 

1819. — George Stratton came in 1819, and settled 
in the American Bottom. Soon afterwards he bought 
the land on which that part of Chester situated upon 
the hill now stands, and made a farm which embraced 
what is now known as the Buena Vista Addition. 

1819. — Isaac Eust, a native of Maine, who had spent 
several years at sea, came to Kaskaskia in 1819. After 
remaining a few years, he went to sea again, and spent 
a year upon the " Ocean Wave;" then returned and 
located permanently in Kaskaskia. He was a wagon 
maker, and introduced an improved style of that 
vehicle among the people of that village. In 1836, he 
purchased and moved upon the farm two miles east of 
Chester, where he now lives. Firmness, decision, in- 
dustry and generosity are the leading traits of his 
character. He is the main pillar of the community 
around him, and often neighborhood difficulties are 
referred to him for adjudication. The appeal of want 
never reached his ear without a cheerful response. 

1819. — Sh elton Evans and Levi Simmons, settled on 
the point below Kaskaskia in 1819, or probably before 
that date. In 1825 they moved and located permanently 
in Horse Prairie. Emanuel Evans, living near Eed 
Bud, is a son of Suelton Evans. Levi Simmons left a 
large family. One of his sons, William Simmons, was 
a joint proprietor of Red Bud. 

1820.— Robert Bratney came from Tennessee to 






OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. Ill 

the Irish Settlement, in 1820. His life was that of an 
industrious farmer, good citizen, and generous neigh- 
bor. But one of his sons came to this county with him. 
He settled upon Plumb Creek, and lived a long and 
useful life in that community. He was the father of 
John B., Bobert N. and James C. Bratney, all citizens 
of the same neighborhood where their father lived and 
died. John B. Bratney holds the office of Justice of 
the Peace. 

1820. — Martin Smith, an emigrant from the State of 
New York, came to the county in 1820. The greater 
part of his life was spent in Bandolph County. His 
only surviving son, John S. Smith, now well advanced 
in years, lives two miles from Chester, on the Plank 
Eoad. He improved this farm more than thirty years 
ago, and he has spent his life thus far upon it. He is a 
quiet, industrious, intelligent, good citizen, and an ac- 
commodating neighbor. 

1820. — John Thomison made a farm in 1820, four 
miles west of Sparta, where he lived several years. 
Towards the close of his life he spent his time with his 
children, in Short's Prairie. George Thomison, a highly 
respected citizen and merchant of Steelesville, is a son 
of John Thomison. 

1820. — Mr. Adams, from Kentucky, settled in Horse 
Prairie, about the year 1820. He was an excellent 
representative of the Kentucky pioneers. His son, 
Samuel B. Adams, is a prominent citizen of that 
prairie, and has filled the office of Associate Justice of 
the County Court. He now holds the office of Justice 
of the Peace. 

1820.— About the year 1820, the McDills— Thomas, 
William, and John, settled in the region around the 
present city of Sparta. They became the leading men 



112 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

of that part of the county. Thomas McDill is yet 
living at an extreme old age, an admirable representa- 
tive of a past generation. He made a farm one mile 
and a half west of the location of Sparta, and has 
lived upon it ever since. William and John settled in 
Flat Prairie, where they lived, highly esteemed citi- 
zens, for a long series of years. The descendants of 
these men are numerous. 

1820. — Alexander Alexander came in the latter 
part of 1819, or the beginning of 1820. He was from 
Chester, South Carolina, and located upon a farm one 
mile south of the locality of Eden. He was the pio- 
neer of that now populous and wealthy region. His 
five sons are still living, respectable, industrious citizens 
like their father. 

1820. — John and Samuel Cochran, from Belfast, 
Maine, arrived in the county in 1820. John first set- 
tled upon the farm now belonging to Mr. Darwin, 
near the mouth of Mary's river. Soon afterwards he 
settled upon the farm now occupied by Isaac Bust. 
He moved away to Hancock County about the year 
1829. Andrew Cochran made the farm two miles and a 
half from Chester on the plank road, which is occupied 
by the Widow Douglas. He moved to Hancock 
County about the year 1830. 

1820. — About this year, or probably the year before, 
David Carthcart, John Dickey, and John McMillen, 
came and settled in the lower end of Flat Prairie. The 
arrival of these three men with their families added 
much strength to the little settlement, and gave it a 
prominence and character which induced others to set- 
tle in it. They became influential, highly esteemed 
citizens. Their descendants are now numerous, and 
among the best citizens of that region. 






OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 113 

1821. — Ebenezer Alexander, from Chester, South 
Carolina, and James Anderson, from Pittsburgh, came 
to the settlement in the lower end of Flat Prairie, in 
1821. Mr. Alexander is still living, having spent 
nearly forty years of an industrious, useful life in the 
same neighborhood. He has a large family. 

James Anderson was an intelligent, honorable, high- 
minded citizen, and died much lamented. He left two 
sons — Francis B. Anderson, Esq., of Sparta, who 
occupies a respectable position at the Randolph County 
Bar, and James Anderson, a respectable farmer, living 
near his father's old place. 

1822. — This year, Samuel Douglas, with James 
Bean, Thomas McBride, James Eedpath, and some 
others, made a settlement in Hitchcock Prairie. Sam- 
uel Douglas came to Illinois in 180-1, with John and 
James Anderson. He was then but ten years old. 
Having reached man's estate, he married and located 
as previously stated, and became an influential; leading 
man in his settlement. He once held the office of 
County Commissioner. His five sons — John A., Arch- 
ibald, George W., Samuel H., and James T. Douglas, 
are all living, and their descendants are numerous. 

James Coulter, John and Alexander McKelvey, 
settled in the Granjl Cote Prairie, in the northeastern 
part of the county, in 1822, and were, therefore, the 
pioneers of that region. They are all still living, hav- 
ing gathered around them a numerous population. 
They have always held a respectable position in the 
community, and stood high in the church. 

In the same year, ELisnA, George, Charles, and 

Fortiss Hitchcock, settled in that prairie, from whom 

it has taken its name. There is none of this family 

now remaining in the prairie. 
*10 



114 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

Sometime previous to 1825, William (twin, Burke, 
Houseman, and James Gillespie, had settled in the 
region of the Bradleys. The descendants of Gwin 
Are living in the same neighborhood. John K., and 
Thomas C. Burke, sons of the pioneer, are leading 
men in that community. James M. Houseman, a 
respectable farmer in that region, is a son of the pio- 
neer. James Gillespie is still living, and the people 
of the county have often testified their appreciation of 
his worth by electing him a member of the County 
Court. He now holds the position of Associate Jus- 
tice. 



[Thus meeting each pioneer as he arrived, and noting 
the locality of his settlement, a mirror-like view of the 
settlement of the county has been presented. It is 
difficult to decide at precisely what period of time the 
immigrants ceased to be pioneers, but reference has 
been made to them just so long as it was required to 
settle the various districts or settlements of the county. 
Omissions have probably occurred; indeed, if they have 
not, it is remarkable. There may be some inaccuracies 
respecting dates. The authority which was considered 
most reliable has been followed, though it has been 
difficult to decide, in some instances where a difference 
has occurred, which was entitled to preference.] 



Scattering settlements having been made in nearly 
all parts of the county, the transition from the wild 
state in which it was found, commenced with deter- 
mined certainty. Making forms and raising corn was 
the chief occupation of the settlers until about the year 
1825, when they commenced planting and exporting 



OF RANDOLPH-,COUNTY. 115 

■cotton. During the next five years, much attention 
was given to the production of this article in the neigh- 
borhood of Columbus, (now Sparta.) and several cotton 
gins had been erected. In 1830, about eighty bales of 
cotton, of good quality, were exported from Smith's 
Landing, (now Chester.) 

The production of cotton gradually gave way to the 
raising of castor beans, which, for some years, was the 
chief article of commerce. Oil mills were erected in 
various parts of the county, for the manufacture of 
castor oil, which was shipped to eastern markets, and 
always supplied the country with money. 

About the year 1839-40, the Messrs. Cole, who had 
erected a steam flouring mill at Chester, commenced 
exporting flour to Southern and Eastern markets. This 
induced the cultivation of wheat, which has gradually 
increased until now it is the staple crop. Corn, oats, 
and hay have grown to be important crops, and great 
quantities above home consumption are annually expor 
ted to foreign markets. 

In the past twenty years the increase in every de- 
partment of agriculture has been most wonderful. 
There are now thirteen first class merchant mills in 
successful operation, and yet great quantities of wheat 
are shipped to distant markets. The production of 
fruit has become an important item of commerce, and 
the soil and climate are found to be well adapted to its 
successful growth. Irish potatoes have proved a profit- 
able crop, and farmers are devoting much attention 
to its cultivation. 

The county contains about five hundred and sixty 
square miles of Territory. Its western boundary is the 
Mississippi river — forty miles in extent. The Kaskas- 
kia river, navigable during a greater part of the season, 



116 HI8T0RICAL SKETCHES 

divides it nearly through the centre. Its northern and 
eastern boundaries include the extreme points of the 
great prairies of the State. Along its southern border 
stands a heavy growth of timber. The interior is an 
intermixture of the boundaries. 

Though the agricultural capacity of the county is im- 
mense, its great source of wealth is stone coal. Nearly 
the area of three townships, in the centre, is underlaid 
with a seam of stone coal, of a superior quality, vary- 
ing from two to six feet in thickness. 

The population of the county is about twenty thous- 
and. The census to be taken next year will probably 
show a greater number, as the population is increasing 
rapidly. 

For more minute particulars of the progress of busi- 
ness, and its present commercial capacity, the reader 
is referred to the sketches of the cities and towns which 
follow. 



RANDOLPH COUNTY AGRICULTU- 
RAL SOCIETY. 

In the year 1851, the enterprising farmers of Flat 
Prairie conceived the idea of organizing an Agricul- 
tural Society. On the 9th of January, 1852, the 
Messrs. Addison, Crawford, Craig, Eobertson, 
Brown, Beattie, and a few others, met together and 
constituted the society. Eobert Brown was chosen 
President, Jacob B. Beattie, Treasurer, and William 
Addison, Secretary. 

The first Annual Fair, or Exhibition, was held the 



OF RANDOLPH COUNTY. 117 

third Wednesday in October, 1852, on the farm of 
James Craig, Flat Prairie. The second Fair was held 
at the same place, 4th October, 1853. And the third 
Annual Fair on the farm of William Eobertson, Flat 
Prairie, 25th October, 1854. The members of the 
Society — and consequent need of additional accommo- 
dation having greatly increased — the citizens of Sparta 
joined with those of the surrounding country in rais- 
ing subscriptions to board-fence a lot in Sparta, which 
Mr. Matthew McClurkin handsomely gave free, for 
five years. On this lot the three successive Fairs of 
'55, '56, and '57, were held, each surpassing the other 
in interest and attraction, and in the numbers in 
attendance. 

In the early part of 1858, the Executive Board pur- 
chased a beautiful piece of land, of ten acres, at Sparta 
— and at an expense of nearly two thousand dollars, 
have had it substantially fenced, with extensive stables 
for horses, cattle, &c, and buildings erected for exhib- 
iting ladies' work, mechanical, and other articles. On 
this ground the Fair of 1858 was held, on the 6th and 
7th days of October, and every year they are, add- 
ing to the improvements and embellishments of the 
grounds. The grounds and improvements are not the 
property of any company or of individuals — but be- 
long to whoever are the members of the Society. 
The Officers, and Executive Committee for 1859, are : 
John A. Nelson, President ; William Addison, Sec- 
retary and Treasurer. Executive Board : Samuel L. 
Boyd, Wm. Eobertson, James Crai^, Aaron M. Al- 
len, and John Watson — with Yice-Presidents, who 
are ex-officio members of Executive Committee — for 
Sparta, James Crawford; for Georgetown, Her. 
Heightman ; Liberty, H. McLaughland ; Chester, 



118 HISTORICAL SKETCHES Of RANDOLPH CO. 

Jacob M. Bair ; Kaekaskia, Joshua G. Burch ; Prai- 
rie du Rocher, Wm. Henry, Esq.; Union Precinct, E. 
D. Durfee; Burnet's, Wm. Rutherford. 



WESTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY AO- 
RICTJLTTJifc^L, SOCIETY. 

The enterprising farmers around Evansville organ- 
ized an Agricultural Society in 1854. After holding 
four successive and creditable exhibitions, wisdom sug- 
gested the propriety of uniting with the other Society; 
hence this one has been discontinued. 



DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST.— KASKASKIA. 



A 



NDERICK JOHN, farmer. 



BUYAT JOSEPH, farmer. 
Bauvais Alexis, do 
Barker Lemuel, do 

Barker Fayette, do 

Barlow William, clock repairer. 
Beiter Danatus, shoemaker. 
Beare Christopher, farmer. 
Beare John, do 

Bilderback James, do 
Boucherie Edward, coroner. 
Barnskawky Joseph, farmer. 



Balweizer Daniel, 


do 


Bond Squire A., 


do 


Bode Henry, 


do 


Brown Charley, 


do 


Buyat August, 


do 


Buyat Belonie, 


do 


Burghard Joseph, 


do 


Burch J. G., 


do 


Burk James, 


do 


pAPLOT PIERRE, 
\J Caplot Antoine P. 


farmer. 


, do 


Caudle Henry, 


do 


Caudle Gregory, 


do 


Caudle William, 


do 


Caudle John, 


do 


Caudle Elney, 


do 


Caudle Anderson, Jr., 


do 


Caudle Harrison, 


do 


Cannady Henry, 


do 



Cannady James, laborer. 
Crew John, laborer. 
Cbenoix (Che-nu) Julian, farmer. 
Chenoix Henry, farmer. 
Canbery Charles, tailor. 
Conrad John, farmer. 
Colbert George, do 
Conant Nathan, do 
Conant Sullivan, cooper. 
Crisler Leonard, farmer. 
Crawford William H., cooper. 
Crisler John M., cooper. 
Cullen Owen, do 

Cullen Daniel, do 



DEPPE F. C, farmer. 
Derouse Peter, wagonmaker. 
Derouse Belo J., farmer. 
Derouse Lewis, do 
Detrech Conrad, wagonmaker. 



TjWANS ADAM, farmer. 



FEAMAN JACOB, capitalist. 
Feaman Adam, farraer. 
Fisher Henry, farmer. 



pARY THEODORE, farmer. 
VX Gant Thomas, farmer. 



120 RANDOLPH COUNTY 



DAN'L REILY. E. A. REILY. HENRY REILY. 

DAN'L REILY & SONS, 

KASKASKIA MILLS, 

North of the Town of Kaakaakia, and Ea<t of Ka*kaskia River, buy 

WHEAT, CORN, AND COUNTRY PRODUCE GENERALLY ; 

And keep on hand, and sell at uniform and low prices, a 
full assortment of 




I mt 




f 



GROCERIES, 

MEN'S AND BOYS' CLOTHING, 

BOOTS AND SHOES, 

HATS AND CAPS, 

TINWARE AND STOVES, 

Dye-Stuffs, Paints, and Patent Medicines, 

STRA W CUTTERS, PLOWS, 
LATHS, SHINGLES, 

ORESSEQ YELLOW PINE FLeeEUNd, 

And Assorted 

WHITE I»XME3 LUMBER.; 

And in fact every article that the most prompt attention to the 
wants of a growing neighborhood suggests. Have also on hand, and 
will sell at an extremely low price, the second-hand, single-flue 
Boilers and Engine. Also, one of Clark's Flouring Mills, complete. 
A rare chance for getting a cheap Mill "6^, 



DIRECTORY. 



121 



TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH. RANGE 7 WEST.— KASKASKIA. 



Gant Alfred, farmer. 
Grant Harvey, do 

Gant Wesley, do 

Gant Robert, do 

Gant William, do 

Gant Thomas, Jr., do 
Gardner A., do 

Goulcling James, do 
Guberuater George E., farmer, 



ULS JOEL. Sr., farmer. 



11 Huls Joel, Jr. 


, 


\o 


Hartman Michael 




c ■> 


Haney Patrick, 




dc 


Hargus James IT.. 




dc 


Haney John. 




do 


Haney James, 




do 


Harmon Joseph, 




do 


Harmon James, 




do 


Harmon Henry, 




do 


Harmon Elijah. 




do 


Harmon Michael, 




do 


Harmon Abram, Jr., cooper 


Harmon John, Sr. 


fa 


•mer. 


Harmon Lewis. 




do 


Harmon Felix, 




do 


Harris E., merchant. 




Harris John, do 






Heard James, farmer. 




Harmon James, ft 


inner. 


Heard Joseph, 


do 




Heard William. 


do 




Hill Stephen, 


do 




Hock Henry, 


do 




Hunt James, 


do 




Hunt Henry, 


do 




Hughes Henry. 


do 




Hughes John, 


do 




Hughes Jam 


do 





J 



ONES ARMSTEAD, 
Jones Armstead, Jr. 



Sr. 



K 



AVAXAUGH DAVIS, farmer. 
Kane John, farmer. 
11 



Kamynski Otto, physician. 
Kavanaugh John, tanner. 
Karstetter Samuel, do 
Karstetter Martin, d<> 
Karstetter William, do 



T ACHAPELLE 
JJ mer. 


LEWIS, far- 


LaChapelle John. 


farmer. 


Labrier Antoine, 


do 


Labrier Peter, 


do 


Leavitt Abijah, 


do 


Leavitt John, 


do 


Leavitt Edward, 


do 


Ledbetter John, 


do 


Ledbetter Martin, 


do 


Lehnherr Jacob, 


do 


Leming Harvey, 


do 


Leming William, 


do 


Link John, 


do 


Lilly John J., 


do 


Linch Isaac, 


do 


Lortz Henry M., blacksmith. 



MACKEY JAMES, farmer. 
Mackey William, do 
Mackey George, do 

Mann Jonathan B., do 

Mann W. H., do , 

Mann John. do 

Mann Alfred, do 

Maxwell Robert A., do 

Maxwell William, do 

Maxwell John, do 

Maxwell Ferdinand, merchant. 
Menard Edmund, farmer. 
Milligan William A., farmer. 
Milligan James, do 

Milligan Thomas, do 

Morrison H. H., do 

Murphy William, do 

Murphy Owen, do 

Mulholland William, do 
Meyers Christian, do 

Morrison George, do 



\22 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

KASKASKIA STORE. 

GEORGE W. STALEY, 

MERCHANT & SHIPPER, 

KASK&SKIA, ILL., 

Announces to the public that he has on hand 

A COMPLETE ASSORTMENT 

OP 

which will be found to embrace every article the mar- 
ket demands. The ladies are requested to call and ex- 
amine his 

FINE AND FANCY 

DRESS SILKS, 

Which they will find particularly attractive. A full 
eupply of 

BOOTS AND SHOES, 

HATS AJSTT> CAPS, 






.COFFEE, SUGAR, MOLASSES, TAR, 
TOBACCO, 

And every article necessary to the wants of the coun- 
try, always on hand. 

G. W. STALEY. 

K4.SKASKIA., OCT. 15, 1859. 






DIRECTORY. 



23 



TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST — KASKASKIA. 



McDonough Thomas J., farmer. 
Morrison, Rev. A. A. 
Morrison Hugh, teacher. 



NIFONG JOHN, farmer. 
Nifong H., do 

Nixon William J., do 
Nixon James, do 

Nixon William, do 



OATT JOHN, farmer. 
Owens Anthony, farmer. 
Owens George L., do 

Owens Timothy, do 



PEARMAN JAMES, farmer. 
Pearman Jesse, do 

Pariset P., farmer. 
Porter Joseph, farmer. 
Porter H., do 

Prew Francis, do 



OEILY 0:VNXEii, oiiher ana 

J.V merchant. 

Raleigh William, farmer. 

Roam John, do 

Ruckenberg Henry, farmer. 

Rocke John, farmer. 

Rocke Thomas, do 

Ruckle John, do 

Roberts Hiram, farmer. 



Roberts Jacob, 


do 


Roberts Perry, 


do 


Roberts Wiley, 


do 


Roberts Volney. 


do 


Roberts Daniel P. 


, lawyer. 


Runck Frederick E., farmer. 


Runck Fred. 





SEYMOUR EDWARD, farmer. 
Seymour George, do 



Seymour Henry, farmer. 
Soharppell John S., farmer. 
Seharppell John, do 

Sinker Henry, do 

Smith William, do 

Smith Stephen. do 

Snow William E., do 
Spindle John D., do 

Styles David, do 

Stype Henry, Justice of the 

Peace. 
Staley George W., merchant. 
Sulser R. M., farmer. 
Sykes Aaron B., farmer. 
Stanley Joseph, laborer. 



UHLS ALONZO, farmer. 
Unger Eli, do 

Un^er Phillip, merchant 
Postmaster. 



and 



VERLIN JOSEPH, farmer. 
Vansan Samuel, do 
Vansam William, do 



WELCH JOHN, farmer. 
Wei'^cl Peter, do 
Wundt W. H . do 

Williamson Bird, do 

Weir James W., do 

Weir William J., farmer. 
Wiswell Andrew. 
Wissal Conrad. 
Wood A C. 
Walster Nicholas. 
Wright Isaac. Jr.. farmer. 
Wheeler James M., do 



YOUNG ANDREW, farmer. 
Young Stephen, do 



124 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



OLD STONE STORE. 



< • » • > 



The proprietors of the " Old Stone Store'' would call 
the attention of the public to their 

IMlVEESKnSETI STOCK 

OF 








•# SV <n 



Of 13 



CLOTHING, 

SUPERIOR KERSEYS, 



D 



!fl # 



B 



m SHOES 



Which the}' offer for sale at 

EXTREMELY LOW PRICES. 



THEIR 



©&,* 



<^ : ^^ 



11®?*™** 



j&i&i>I^ u 



Is of a superior kind, and offered for sale at very low 
rates. A heavy Stock of 

IRON, NAILS, SPADES, SHOVELS, FORKS. 
PLOWS, &C., ALWAYS ON HAND. 
J. H. & G. S. JONES. 



CHESTER. 



In the early part of the year 1819, a convpany was 
organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, composed of the late 
Major William Oliver, W. Bart, David Brown, 
Daniel D. Smith and others, for the purpose of pur- 
chasing the lands at the junction of the Mississippi and 
Kaskaskia rivers. Daniel D. Smith (afterwards killed 
by Winchester, at Edwardsville,) came to Illinois as 
the agent of the company and purchased a large tract 
of land near the mouth of the Kaskaskia, and com- 
menced what he intended should be the future metropolis 
of Illinois, and named it Portland. The year following, 
the late Benjamin V. Porter (afterwards the founder 
of Helena, Arkansas,) came out and erected a number 
of dwellings under a contract with the proprietors, and 
also built a steam mill. But towns in those days were 
not needed, and despite the prodigious efforts of the 
proprietors, this town obstinately refused to grow. 
Ten years afterwards it had become a ruin, and now only 
the faint vestige of the mill may be seen. 

In 1829 Samuel Smith, James L. Lamb and Thomas 

Mather purchased the land on which Chester now 

stands, from the late Judge John McFerren who had 

entered it in the year 1818. In the summer of 1829 

Mr. Smith built the first house in Chester, the same 
*11 



126 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

that is now occupied by R. H. Mann as a residence. 
In the same year Mr. Smith commenced the erection of 
a mill on what was then known as the "screw auger" 
principle. This, however, was abandoned before com- 
pletion. 

In the fall of 1829, Mather, Lamb & Co., (then 
merchants of Kaskaskia,) built a slaughter house for 
the purpose of slaughtering and packing the beef of 
the county, which was then plenty, and of good quality. 
In the sante year Mr. S. B. Opdyke, representing the 
house of Mather, Lamb & Co., built a storehouse and 
opened a stock of goods. A large warehouse was 
erected at the same time. 

In the spring of 1831, Samuel Smith laid off that 
part of his land below Wall street into town lots, and 
Mather, Lamb & Co., laid off a few lots above Yv 11 
street. . The idea of building a town having become 
fixed, Mrs. Jane Smith gave it the name of Chester — 
she was a native of Chester, England. At this time the 
population consisted of Samuel Smith, Setii Allen, 
li. B. Servant, with their families, and S. B. Opdyke^ 
Elias Reeder and Samuel Perry. The late, lamented 
Setii Allen, had established a cooper shop in 1829, 
which he conducted for a number of years, manufac- 
turing barrels for packing beef, and for castor oil. B. 
B. Servant established a mill for the manufacture of 
castor oil, in the fall of 1880, which for several yearii 
was the institution of the place, and gave to the \ 

town a considerable commercial importance. In 1 

Sj las Leland established a blacksmith shop. The first 
brick house in this place was erected hy Amizi An- 
drews, in 1832. This house was U down in 
IS 14. by a steamboat. The same year, Hob 4X3 e Francis 
erected the stone building which he now occupies. At 



DIRECTORY. 127 

this time forest treos were growing around where the 
mill, Swanwick's Eow and Holmes' residence now 
stand. The storehouse now occupied by D. Block 
& Bro. was built by Holmes & Swan wick in 1833, 
in which they opened the second stock of goods ever 
brought to this town. 

About this time; the venerable father Mathews, then 
in manhood's vigor, commenced holding religious ser- 
vice, and gave an origin to the Presbyterian church 
of Chester. 

The first physician of Chester was Dr. Barbee, who 
located in 1834, but died shortly afterwards. Dr. Fer- 
ris, who was a prominent physician of Chester for 
several years, came in 1835. In the same year Walker 
& Wilkerson opened a large grocery store. The 
Messrs. Cole built a mill .in the lower part of town, in 
1837. It was both a saw and grist mill. At the same 
time a ferry boat, driven by horse power, took the place 
of the flat boat which had become inadequate to the 
business. These horse boats gave place to steam ferry 
boats about 1849. In 1836 a frame school house (the 
house now used as the African church,) was built and 
used as a union church a?id Sunday school room. The 
Messrs. Cole made improvements in their mill in 1839, 
and commenced exporting flour to the southern mar- 
ker 

In 1840, the name of the Presbyterian church was 
changed from theKaskarkia to the Chester Presbyterian 
church, and Rev. C. C. Riggs became the permanent 
pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. B. P. Spillman, 
late of Shawncctown. In 1846, the stone church was 
commenced, and completed the year following. The 
late Rev. John Kennfdy assumed the pastoral charge 
of the church in the early part of 1850, and continued 



128 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

until relieved by death, in the summer of 1851. Eev. 
P. D. Young succeeded to the charge of the congrega- 
tion in the latter part of 1852, and remained until 1856. 
Eev. B. H. Charles took charge of the church in the 
latter part of 1857, and he is now the officiating pastor. 

A Baptist church was organized under the ministerial 

labors of Eev. Peters, of Waterloo, as early as 

1842, and probably some years before. Capt. Eogers, 
a devoted Christian, was an active, zealous member 
of this church; and contributed much to its prosperity. 

Eev. Jenkins became pastor of the church in 

1845, and continued to labor for the congregation nearly 
three years. After his retirement the church was left 
without a pastor, and during a two years absence of 
Capt. Eogers, about 1849-50, the organization was 
abandoned. On the return of Capt. Sogers, in 1851, 
he collected the members together, and effected a new 
organization. Eev. D. L. Phillips occasionally 
preached for the congregation. In 1853, the large brick 
church was erected, and Eev. J. B. Kelly installed as 
pastor. In the latter part of 1854, Eev. O. L. Barler 
succeeded Mr. Kelly, and he is now the officiating 
minister. 

In the year 1840, Eev. II. Hatton, a Methodist min- 
ister, collected together six communicants of that de- 
nomination, and organized the Methodist church of 
Chester. It was placed under the southern Illinois 
conference, and regularly supplied with a preacher. A 
German Methodist church was organized in 1848. The 
two congregations united their efforts and erected a 
brick church in 1850. 

The Associate Eeformed church of Chester was or- 
ganized by Eev. James McAuley in the year 1843. 
The congregation depended upon the Synod for sup- 



DIRECTORY. 129 

plies in preaching until 1858, when Rev. W. A. Pollock 
was duly ordained pastor of the church. Under his 
efforts a church edifice is in course of erection which 
will be an ornament to the place. 

In 1844, Eev. William Mitchell, a clergyman of the 
Episcopal church, came to Chester, and commenced his 
labors with the few members of that denomination liv- 
ing in and near the town. Shortly afterwards, the church 
was organized. The unceasing, quiet labors of Dr. 
Mitchell soon gathered strength to the little congre- 
gation, and in 1848 the fine church edifice in which 
the congregation now worship was commenced. Four 
years afterwards it was completed and opened for pub- 
lic service. 

Eev. Mr. Butterman organized the First Lutheran 
church of Chester, in the early part of 1849. The fol- 
lowing fall, Eev. M. Birich sue. -ceded Mr. Butterman, 
and commenced at once the erection of their beautiful 
church building, which was completed in a few months. 
Under the constant labors of Mr. Eirich. the church 
has gradually increased its membership. 

In 1849 *Father Peren, of Kaskaskia, came to Ches- 
ter, and, collecting the members of the Catholic Church, 
first commenced sa3 T ing mass. He occasionally visited 
the congregation, and performed the rites of the church. 
The church building was erected in 1852. Father 
Peren continued his visits until a few months ago, 
when Father Eepies took charge of the church. 

Messrs. Holmes & Swanwick commenced the erec- 
tion of the stone flouring mill in 1842, and completed 
it in 184G. This gave a fresh impetus to the prosperity 
of the place, and its bounds began to expand. In 1848, 
Chester became the county seat of Eandolph County, 

* Died on the 4th of October, IS59. 



130 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

and the largo Court House, (an engraving of which may 
be seen on the front page) was erected. From that 
time the improvement of the place has been steady. 

At the session of the General Assembly, in 1855, a city 
charter was granted to Chester, which was adopted 
and went into operation a few months afterwards. At 
the first charter election the following City Council 
was elected: 

•JOSEPH WILLIAMSON, Ma you. 

Aldermen. — R. H. Crittenden and G. S. Jones, First Ward. 
I. H. Nelson and Henry Stump, Second Ward. 
Frederick Buokxan and Alfred Whitaker, Third Ward. 

1857. — At the next annual election the Board consisted 

of: 

FREDERICK BUCKMAN, Mayor. 

Aldermen. — R. H. Chittenden and A. S. Palmer, First Ward. 
I. H. Nelson, and Henry Stump, Second Ward. 
" Alfred Vu nd J. G. Middendorf. Third Ward. 

1858, -Third Board: 

8ET1I ALLEN, May on. 

men. — A. Block an<1 A. S. Palmer, First Ward. 
" I. H. Nelson and Henry Stlmp, Second Ward. 
" F. Buckmam and J. G. Midden-dorf, Third Ward. 

1 > — Fourth Board: 

GABRIEL JONES, Mayor. 

Aldermen. — A. Block and A. Dunn, First Ward. 

" I. H. Nelson an I Henry Stump, Second Ward. 
" F. Bhckman and J. G. Middendorf, Third Ward. 

erection by the city of a large public school 
house, in 1858, closes the leading events of her history. 
Thi g building is an ornament to the place, and will be a 
lasting monument to the intelligent spirit of her citi- 
zens. 



DIRECTORY. 131 

MENARD, 

Menard is a part of Chester, though it lies outside 
of the city limits. It is the scat of H. C. Cole & Go's 
extensive commercial operations, which gives it a local 
character and entitles it to a name. It will probably 
be brought into the charter limits of Chester before 
long, and constitute the Fourth Ward. 



132 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



F. BTJCKMAN 

Has in Store a largo and carefully selected Stock of 

FANCY & STAPLE 

DRY-OOOOS, 

Designed for the 

CHESTER MARKET, 

And offered on such terms as must please the pur- 
chaser. His Stock of 



m 



Is large and varied, and of the best quality and latest 
styles. « 

Particular attention is invited to his Stock of 



£F1 



GOT 



Which will be found of the latest styles and best ma- 
terial. 

CLOTHING, 

Of material purchased and made by experienced work- 
men, always on hand. 

ORDERS FILLED ON SHORT NOTICE. 

CATAWBA GRAPE VINES, 
NATIVE WINE FOR SALE. 



CHESTER DIRECTORY. 



ANDREWS AMZI, druggist, 
Adams Robert, cooper. 
Allmyer John H., merchant. 
Allmyer Frederick, stone mason. 
Allen Thomas G., lawyer. 
Anderson Charles C, merchant. 
Anderson A. A., keeps Chester 

hotel. 
Assman William, Physician. 
Andrews Truman Rev., farmer. 



BAUMANN JOHN l-\. cigar 
maker. 

Barler 0. L. Rev., teacher. 

Bewie Carl, shoemaker. 

Beare Joseph, merchant. 

Beare Nicholas, lumber mer- 
chant. 

Block Charles, grocer. 

Block David, do 

Block Adolph, commission mer- 
chant. 

Bommelman F., shoemaker. 

Burns William, grocer. 

Bungie William* do 

Brown Andrew J., teamster. 

Brown A. F., laborer. 

Buckman Frederick, merchant. 

Burbes Peter, stone mason. 



Clement Judson, Plasterer. 
Crittenden Richard H., clerk in 

mill. 
Chapman A. B., Carpenter. 
Clieman William, grocer. 
Crain Nelson R., wagon maker. 
Callawav Thomas H.. constable. 
Charles B. H. Rev. 
Childs C. J. Dr. 
Clemens Curtis C. proprietor of 

"Democrat." 
Crisler John W., clerk. 



DECKER HARMON, teamster. 
Detmore Lewis, stone mason. 
Dillon Martin, stone cutter. 
Dunn Alexander, merchant. 
Dunn Frank, clerk. 
Douglas Thomas R.. salesman. 



ELLIOTT ED., engineer. 
Edwards John L.. druggist. 



FINNE WILLIAM, farmer. 
Francis Horace, street com- 
missioner. 



COLE H. C, merchant. 
Cole A. B., do 
Criesey Morris, salesman. 
Cole John P.. do 

Christian James M.. stone mason. 

12 



GINDRAW PETER, cabinet 
maker. 
Gahrs Henry r cabinet maker. 
<^ansman Frank, blacksmith. 



184 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



HERMAN C. COLE. ABNER B. COLE. 

H. O. COLE & CO., 



MANUFACTURE 



HF. I!.. IE I'US I lllil, (OLH Mills, k 

F L ( ) U R . 




%% 



Sell all kinds of 



*$* "fS ■§§ #J 




5 



GROCERIES 

HARDWARE, IRON, NAILS, 



A t n 1 all descriptions of 



LUMBER, LATH, SHINGLES. 

Also, all kinds of 

gtjrkttltttrat Jmjkmntte. 



MAKE 



CASH ADVANCES ON PRODUCE 

For shipment South or East. Sell Sight Exchange on 
New Orleans and St. Louis. Pay Cash Cor all kinds of 
Farm Produce. 



DIRECTORY. 



135 



Gilster Henry, flour packer. 
Griswolcl George R., farmer. 
Gray Emerson, cooper. 
Griss Frederick, porter at Coles' 

mill. 
Gordon W. A., physician. 
Gnaigy Js icob, grocer. 



HALL E. J., druggist. 
Hartenberger Jacob, wagon 
maker. 

Hartenberger Peter, teamster. 

Haskin C. I., keeps livery stable. 

Haskin Charles I., commission 
merchant. 

Holmes J. B., dealer in real estate. 

Holbrook, J. C, lawyer. 

Hoff Nicholas. 

Horn Casper, hotel keeper. 

Hobbs Thomas, butcher. 

Harmer Geo. W., clerk of wharf- 
boat. 

Hobls Jam^s, butcher. 



JONES JAMES H., merchant. 
Jones G. S., do 

Jones Gabriel, mayor and justice 

of the peace. 
Jourdau James B., aaddler. 



KIPP JOHN HENRY, sales- 
man. 
Knapp J. J., carpenter. 
Kerr David, druggist. 



LANNAMAN HARMON, clerk. 
Lakenan William R., gar- 
dener. 
Layne Elisha, carpenter. 
Leittleton John A., engineer. 
Lish A. P., brewer. 
Lybargcr D. S., blacksmith. 
Lough ran Hugh, merchant. 
Loughran Charles, do 
Lieper A. H., physician. 



MATTINGLY, J. B., steamboat 
capt. 

Mann Robert, wagon maker. 

Mann Robert H., salesman. 

Middendorf John G., merchant. 

Morey A., lumber merchant. 

Morrison Thomas S., lawyer. 

Montague C, plasterer. 

Montague E. J., publisher of Di- 
rectory. 

McCullun Uriah, cooper. 

McQuistan John C, inn keeper. 

MoNabny John., deputy poat 
master. 

Mann John H., teacher. 

MeBrino William, keeps hotel. 



NALER ISAAC, laborer. 
Nelson Isaac H., clerk of the 
county court. 
Neville Harvey, Sr., lawyer. 
Neville Harvey, Jr., engineer. 
Nisbet Hugh B., proprietor of 
"Democrat." 







CHS ADAM, cooper. 



PALMER A. S., furniture mer- 
chant. 
Paul us John, brickmaker. 
Phillip E., grocer. 
Phillip A., do 
Pollock W. A. Rev. 



RALLS J. M.. clerk of circuit 
court. 
Rader Henry, cooper. 
Robbe Frederick, laborer. 
Rehfeldt William, miller. 
Roberts William, saddler. 
Robison James W., capt of " Wild 

Duck." 
Ritter Valentine, grocer. 
Reno John W., cooper. 
Runger Henry, stone mason. 



136 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



CLOTHING, 

OF- 

EVERY VARIETY AND QUALITY, 



OF THE MOST DESIRABLE STYLES, 
AND 

SUPERIOR WORK, 

RECEIVED FROM 




UfttWt 





jAJT 



henry smrrrs 



felt 




r? o 






FRONT STREET, 

CITY MILLS, CHESTER ILLINOIS. 

A full supply of 

BOOTS, SHOES, HATS, CAPS, &0. 

And every description of 

GENTLEMEN'S FURNISHING GOODS, JEWELRY, &C. 

HENRY SHUTZ. 



DIRECTORY. 



137 



SONNAMANN HARMAN, plas - 
terer. 
Sauppe Henry, Dr. 
Sehuchert J. F., merchant. 
Schuchert William, salesman. 
Sehuchert J. F. M., blacksmith. 
Sohrader Charles, cooper. 
Shane Phillip, brickmaker. 
Servant R. B., justice of the peace. 
Shrader E., laborer. 
Sherman J. G., carpenter. 
Shardong Charles, do 
Shutz Henry, clothier. 
Smith Davis, butcher. 
Smith Thomas, baker. 
Sonnanberg Henry, miller. 
Speckman Henry, gardener. 
Stump David, stone mason. 
Stump Henry, carpenter. 
Stolle II. R., grocer. 
Swanwick John. 
Swan wick Francis. 



TACKENBERY HENRY, tai- 
lor. 



Trefte Frederick, wagon maker. 
Threldkell W. H., keeps boarding 

house. 
Toppe David, carpenter. 



WALKER E., grocer. 
Widen W. S., 

Warren Stanford, carpenter. 

Warren Alfred, teamster. 

Warren John K., carpenter. 

Wassell Charles, merchant tailor. 

Wegner August, cabinet maker. 

Wei buck C, mason. 

Wheerly Raymond, jeweler. 

Whitaker Alfred, furniture mer- 
chant. 

Wilbern James, wagon maker. 

Wester Frederick, jailor. 

Wegner Christian, carpenter. 

Williamson Joseph, tinner and 
stove merchant. 

Williamson C. C, keeps ferry. 

Williamson Francis M., tinner. 

Williams J. 



TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST.— CHESTER. 



ARPIN MICHAEL, laborer. 
Abbey William, farmer. 



j pLAMPICK JOHN, farmer. 
; \J Clore Harrison, do 



BARNES THOMAS, farmer. 
Burch J. G., do 

Boga Frederick, do 

Benvenn Lewis, cooper. 
Bair Jacob M. Sr., farmer. 
Bair Jacob M. Jr., do 
Bair David, teamster. 
Bartles C, farmer. 
Brown A. F., do 
Burk William, farmer. 
Browder William M., farmer. 

*12 



F 



ARLEY DAVID, farmer. 



GROSS FERDINAND, farmer 
Gindran Francis C, do 

Gindran Peter, do 



H 



ESS ANTOINE, farmer. 
Hanna J. C. Jr.. do 



138 RANDOLPH COUNTY 



CHESTER & ST. LOUIS 

REGULAR TRI-WEEKLY PACKET. 

THE FAST AND COMMODIOUS STEAMER, 



^JbIII^i 

WILLIAM^GARVIN, 

Will continue to ply as a regular passenger and freight Packet be- 
tween the above named Ports, leaving Chester every Wednesday, 
Friday, and Sunday mornings, at 7 o'clock; and leaving St. Louia 
.every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings, at 4 o'clock. 

ALEX, ZEIGLER, Master. 

.10E S. KEITH, 



Clerks. 
JAS. WINBURN, 



WILLIAM SANNEMANN&BRO. 

Would announce to the citizens of Chester, and vicinity, that they 
have just opened a large Stock of 

NB. 

PAMILY GROCERIES 

In their now Building, at the angle of the Plank Road, 

CHESTER, ILLINOIS. 

They have also in Store a variety of 

DRY-GOODS, 

To which they invite especial attention. Their Stock of 

BOOTS ^aJNTID SHOJECS 

Will be found of the best quality. They have also an extensive 
variety of HATS AND CAPS. They invite a call from every per- 
son, feeling confident that they will be able to please. 



DIRECTORY. 



139 



TOWNSHIP r SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST.— CHESTER. 



Harden Joseph, farmer. 
Hirte Christie, do 

Herbert Peter, do 

Hoff Nicholas, do 



JOHNSON ROBERT, farmer. 
Jaiina Andrew, do 

Janna Michael, do 



KIPP F. W., farmer. 
Kriege H., do 



AHMANN AUGUST. 



MARLIN WILLIAM, C, far- 
mer. 
Miller William, farmer. 
Mitchell Rev. W., do 
Montreal Joseph, laborer. 
Montreal Michael Sr., farmer. 
Montreal Michael Jr., do 
Montreal John, do 



Menard Lewis, farmer. 



lETTIT HENRY N. farmer. 



ROCKWELL LAURIN, farmer. 
Rockwell Ephraim D. do 
Rockwell Justus, laborer. 
Raville John B., farmer. 



SANDERS CHARLES L., far- 
mer. 
Seguin Antoine, farmer. 



TINDALL R. W., teamster. 
Tindall Nelson, cooper. 
Thompson William, farmer. 



WEIBUCK CHRISTOFF, far- 
mer. 
Webb Solomon, farmer. 



TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 6 WEST.— CHESTER. 



ADAM JAMES, farmer and 
lumber merchant. 
Adam James P., farmer and lum- 
ber merchant. 



Bisuer Henry, farmer. 
BilderbackS.*P., do 
Brown Lemuel M., farmer. 
Brooks John. do 



B 



IERMANN FREDERICK, far- 
mer. 



GRISLER ABEL, farmer. 
Grisler Thomas J., do 



140 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



% 



GAHRS & WHITAKEB, 



MANUFACTUREBS AND 




h 








O^ 







OTTlESSTJEJrL, ILIi. 



AMZI ANDREWS. 



JOHN L. EDWARD3I 




ANDREWS & EDWARDS, 

DEALERS IN EVERY VARIETY OF 



PAINTS, OILS, 




XttUHf 



VARNISHES, 



DYE-STUFFS, g&^ filOW GUSS, 

SEHEtlT GAS, ALCOHOL, TORPiHTIIIi, 

BOOKS AND STATIONERY, 

JEWELRY, PERFUMERY NOTIONS, &C. 

CHESTER , 



DIRECTORY. 



141 



TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 6 WEST.— CHESTER. 



Cassell C, farmer. 
Caney August, farmer. 
Clare Abram, do 
Clare Franklin B., farmer. 
Cander Martin, do 

Crittenden William, do 
Crawford Hugh M., do (justice 

of the peace.) 
Campbell Elisha, farmer. 
Craige Robert, do 



D 



IXON MUNGO, farmer. 
Dame Charles R., farmer. 



Demack Lewis, do 

Douglas Robert S., do 

Douglas Adam, do ' 

Douglas Launcey, do 

Douglas James, farmer and mil- 
ler. 
Douglas Andrew, farmer. 
Dravies Henry, do 

Darwin John G., farmer and wood 

merchant. 
Dean John, farmer. 



EBERS HENRY, farmer. 
Emery Robert, do 
Esselmann Bernard, do 



FEY PHILLIP, farmer. 
Fleetwood George, farmer. 
Fulford Thomas, farmer. 



r\ RAHAM ROBERT S., farmer 
V3T and carpenter. 
Gilchrist Archibald, farmer. 
Groh Frederick, farmer. 
Greenawalt Henry, farmer. 
Griffith William, do 



HARTENBERGER C, farmer. 
Hays Joseph C, brickmaker. 
Hahn Christian, farmer. 
Hanslek Albert, do 
Harkness, George, do 
Heine Henry, do 

Hinkback Girard, do 
Hillerman Frederick farmer. 
Hill Thomas, do 

Hind man James H., do 
Haney John, do 

Holloman Ezekiel, do 

Harnbush, do 



JOHNSON BARTHOLOMEW, 
farmer. 



KETTLER CHRISTOPHER, 
farmer. 
Kennedy Eli, farmer. 



Kean Joseph, 
Knapp Philip C. 
Knapp Jacob, 
Knope Lewis 
Kazma Jacob, 



do 
do 
do 

do 
do 



LIVELY FLEMING, farmer. 
Lively Reuben, 
Lawson Mason, 
Lawson Andrew K., 
Linder Lewis, 
Lively Richard, 
Lybarger Edmund S. 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



MASON JAMES W., farmer. 
Merchencosky Peter, do 
Miller, Matthew, do 

Miller Henry, do 

Myers Peter, blacksmith. 
Moore William, farmer. 



14J RANDOLPH COUNT* 



THOMAS G. ALL£!N ; 

gMtormjg ami (fytim&m 

Will practice Law in the Circuits comprising Randolph and adjoin- 
ing counties. Also, in the Supreme Court of the State, and in the 
United States District and Circuit Courts. Residence and Office, 



JAMES C. HOLBROOK, 

fjrttovnett and Counsdov at i^aiv, 



AND 



NOTARY PUBLIC, 
CHESTER, -,-'.-- ILLINOIS. 

OFFICE IN THE COURT HOUSE. 

Will practice in Randolph and adjoining counties, and Supreme 
Court of Illinois, and United States Courts, &c. 



THOMAS S. MORRISON, 

ATTORNEY All) COUNSELOR AT LAW; 

OFFICE ON 

SPARTA STREET, CHESTER, 

RANDOLPH COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 



HARVEY NEVELL, 

%ttnnM at Hi 



CHESTER. IIiL. 

RESIDENCE IN CHESTER. 



IHRKCTni: V. 



na 



TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 6 WE8T.— CHESTER. 



N 



TOACH SIMON, fa 



OLDENSLAKER PETER, far- 
mer. 



PETTIT THOMAS, farmer 
Peck Jacob Sr., do 
Pinkerton David J., do 
Peck Jacob, Jr., do 

Proctor Thomas, do 



R 



AY WALTER, farmer. 



Rushka M'., do 

Riggs David, do 

Robison Joseph Sr., do 
Robison Joseph Jr., do 
Rust George S., keeps hotel. 
Rust Isaac, farmer and w 

maker. 
Runger Frederick, farmer. 



Smith Fran. farmer- 

Sullivan Lessenbee, do 

Schzirkosky C. L., do 



TAGDER JOHN, farmer. 
Tindall Reuben Jr., farmer- 
Telfer Charles M., do 

Turner Wilson, do 



V 



AN OVER SAMUEL, farmer. 



U7ELGE CONRAD., 
If WhitsonH. C, 

Williamson Bird., 
Wilcox William. 
Wilagala Martin. 
Wood Enoch, 
Wood John M., 
Woolshack Joseph, 
>lshack Voluntine, 



farmer, 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 

do 

do 



MIll/TZ CHARLES, farmer 

O Shutz Benjamin, do 
Schrader Frederick, do 

Schrader Julius, do 

Smith John 3., do 



YOUNG JOHN, farmer aD .d" 
tailor. 
Young Richard M., nurseryman. 
Young James, farmer. 
Yarres Damon, do. 



144 RANDOLPH COUNTY 




CLUCKS, WltilE 



RAYMOND WHBERLY, 

Dealer in 

Jeweiry, Spectacles, Gold Pens, etc. 

Watches and Clocks repaired at short notice, and 
warranted. Shop in Chester, on the Hill, near the 
Court House 




D. BLOCK & BRO, 

WHOLESALE A RETAIL 



DEALERS IN 



,1 ill DOMESTIC 

CHESTER, ILLINOIS. 



I* 



C, WASSELL, 

MERCHANT TAILOR, 

A^V13 DEALER I1V 

GENTLEMEN'S FURNISHING GOODS. 

NO. 2 SWANWICK'S ROW, 

Cliester, Illinois. 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL STORE. 

I offer for sale, at my two places of business, near the Court 
House, in Chaster, a good, new. and well assorted Stock of Goods, 
consisting in part of Men's Boots and Shoes; Ladies', Misses', and 
Children's Boots, Shoes, and Gaiters; Family Groceries; Hardware, 
Qveensware, Nails, Cedarware, Stoneware, Tobacco, Notions, Toys. 

Also, a large assortment of Baskets, from a very fine article to the 
Ptrong feed Basket. Whisky by the barrel and half barrel, together 
with other arti >les ?<■<> tedious to mention. 

Goods will !»" exchanged for merchantable produce, and the best 
prices paid, by 

CHESTER, Sept. 17, 1859. 



DIRECTORY. 145 



n Hiii ip m %miiiu <wi i \ *w ii ''la on 
MRS. E. T. & MR. A. A. ANDERSON. 

Proprietors. 

On Front street, one square above the Wharf-boat. A good 
stable in connection with the House. MeCutcheon's Hacks leave 
this house daily for Sparta. 



BANK OF CHESTER, 

The Bank of Chester allows interest to Time De- 
positors; buys and sells Exchange on the principal 
cities of the United States; makes Collections, and 
does a general Banking Business. 

C. MILTENBERGER, Cashier. 



CHAS. J. CHILDS, M. D., 

hpirian, J5ttrjgi(0n 

AND 

OBSTETRICIAN. 

Office opposite the Store of J. H. & O. S. Jones, 

6HESTPEB„ tLUN©tS. 





JAMBS H. WATT, 

wan. k §mut\ 




i 



CHESTER, ILLINOIS. 

OFFICE tJJ THE COURT BOTCSE. 

i a 



146 RANDOLPH COUNTY 



BOSTON STORE. 

FRONT- STRUT, CHESTER, ILLINOIS, 



M AMMOTH STOC K. 

JOSEPH BEARE, 

Who would respectfully announce to the citizens of Randolph, Per- 
ry, and Jackson, that he has now on hand, one of the largest and 
most complete Stocks of Goods ever offered in Southern Illinois, con- 
sisting in part of every description of 

F»L^VI^ V1VD FANCY 

irg-dook Closing, Clotljs, 

lOOSl, SHOES, 

HATS, GAPS, SHIRTS, SHAWLS, MANTILLAS, 

|[^^(? ^f,- M W ^t? ^ ^^"WRlfW!, W* ^, f?:-l ^"Wi Mk Mtf^S u 

BLACK, FANCY, AND FIGURED SILKS; 

ENGL:BH, ...-..'_... 3ERMAN, hk AMERICAN PRINTS, 

Bonnets of the Finest of Texture and Latest Styles; 

A No. 1 ARTICLE OF 

COFFEE, SUGAR, TEA & TOBACCO, 

HARDWAKE, QDEENSWARE, STONEWARE, 

And a thousand and one other articles not enumerated, which will '' 
disposed of cheap for cash or country prod nee. 

ALSO, A LARGE LOT OF 

PINS AND CYPRESS SHINGLES, 

White and Yellow Pine, and Dresstd Flooring. 



HAVING PURCHASED MY STOCK I'fMN THE -CASH SYSTEM," I (AN 
AFFORD. AND I AM DETERMINED TO SELL 

EXTREMELY LOW, FOR CJAsH- 



DIRECTORY. 



147 








"JE^jSl XjbIMHES n. , 



WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IX 

PLAIN AND ORNAMENTAL 






TABLES, DESKS, SECRETARIES, SAFES, 

SOFAS, LQraSES, 

MATTRESSES, CRIBS, BOOKCASES, 

WARDROBES, CHAIRS, 

CHLrnmsrs, mireors, 

CLOCKS, AND TRIMMINGS. 

Iii short, every description of 

FURNITURE, CLOCKS, &C, &C. 

BRICK ROW, NEARLY OPPOSITE WHARFBOAT, 

CHESTER, ILLINOIS. 

We will sell as 

CHEAP AS ANY OTHER HOUSE 

In the Western Country, and warrant all that we sell 



"Nuf sed." 



A. S. PALMER. 



148 RANDOLPH COUNTY 



1859. 1859. 



iBffl w ^w wk i» li ^m m SS V © m 

BY 

JOHN C. M'QUISTON, 

CHESTER, ILLINOltS. 



PLANTER'S HOUSE, 

Corner Front and Angle Streets, 

CHESTER, - - - ILLINOIS. 

WILLIAM McBRINE, Proprietor. 

STABLE IN CONNECTION WITH THE HOUSE. 



TWO MILE HOUSE, 

CAMPTOWN, ILLINOIS. 

The undersigned is prepared to accommodate customers day or 
night, in the most satisfactory manner. He intends to keep as good 
a house as can be found in the country. 

70t~ Horses kept by the day or week, on reasonable terms. "^^ 

a. S. RUST. 



ILLINOIS HOUSE, 

Opposite Wharf Boat, 

CHESTER, ILLINOIS. 

Travelers will find this a convenient and pleasant stopping place. 

C. HORN, Proprietor. 

Bakery in connection with this House. "%&c 

C. H. 



DIRECTORY 



149 



The Quickest and most Reliable, and at the same Time, the most 
Efficacious and Pleasant Article ever Employed fox* the Hair, is 

PROP. O. J. WOOD'S 

HAIR RESTORATIVE. 

The New York Day Book says : 

"The majority of Hair Washes, Hair Dyes, Hair Tonic.-, Hair 
Oils, and the numberless preparations which are now before the pub- 
lic under such extravagant, hyperbolical, and fantastic titles, as we 
see paraded in show window cards and newspaper headings, as hair 
preparations, are all humbugs of the first water; their real merit, 
when they possess any, is : that thev do no harm. HOG'S LARD, 
WHALE OIL, LARD OIL, SWEET OIL, scented and colored; make 
up, when in beautiful wrappers and white flint glass bottles, the 
costliest character of tonics ; and when thus costly, are baptized 
with some trisyllable term, and caught at by verdant young and old 
of both sexes. Such is not the character of Professor Wood's Hair 
Restorative. This gentleman comes before the world without any 
•high falutin' Xilophlorium, or any other astounding and startling 
catchpenny terms : he simply advertises a Hair Restorative — what it 
expresses, precisely — and as a restorative it acts. Buy Professor 
Wood's Hair Restorative, and as you value your scalp, aye, your 
very brains, apply nothing else; for it may be that you'will get 
some worse substance than perfumed lard oil on your cranium. — 
Remember, Wood's Restorative for the Hair is the best article ex- 
tant." 

IT WILL, BY NATURE'S OWN PROCESS, RESTORE 

GRAY HAIR TO THE ORIGINAL COLOR! 

Will make it Grow on Bald Heads ; 

Will restore the Natural Secretions: 

Will remove at once all itching : 

Will remove all Dandruff: 

Will cure all eruptions — even Scald Head : 

Will make the Hair Soft and Glossy ; 

Will make the old appear young again ; 

Will preserve the Color of Hair to old age : 

Will always Fasten it and stop its Falling : 

And is one of the best Toilet Articles for the Hair now in use. 

Manufactured by 0. J. WOOD & CO., and sold Wholesale and 
Retail, at 444 Broadway, New York, and 114 Market street, St. Louis, 
Mo. Also, sold bv all Druggists in the Citv and Country. 

SOLD IN CHESTER BY 



*13 



E. J. HALL, and 
EDWARDS & ANDREWS. 



150 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

SPRING HILL 

ACCOMMODATION. 

The undersigned is making preparations to devote 
his exclusive attention to the entertainment of those 
who favor him with their patronage at Spring Hill. 



Will always he supplied in a style that will render per- 
fect satisfaction to his guests. 

THE JSTAJBILiES 

Will be furnished with Corn, Oats, and Hay, and kept 
in the best of order. 

J. M. BAIR 



MARTIN DILLON, 

DEALER IN 

ITALIAN AND AMERICAN MARBLE, 

MQNUM£NT§ 5 T@IVIBSTQ)5C1S, 1TC, 

Persons wishing to beautify the last resting place of 
their departed friends with something neat, appro- 
priate, and durable, can be accommodated on the most 
reasonable terms, by application at my shop, one door 
north of J. H. & Gr. S. Jones' Dry Goods Store, 

FRONT STREET, CHESTER, ILL. 

As none but the BEST MATERIAL is used, per- 
sons may rely on being furnished with the best of 
material. The workmanship will be executed in the 
most beautiful style. The public are invited to call 
and examine specimens of his work. 



DIRECTORY. 151 



C. LOUGHRAN. C. C. ANDERSON. 

LOUGHRAN & ANDERSON 

DEALEKS IX 

FANCY & STAPLE 










BONNETS, 
:exatfs -ajxti> oafs, 

BOOTS AND SHOES, 

HARDWARE AND CUTLERY, 

<gtouim% 



AND 



QUEENS W^RE ; 

TOGETHER WITH 

TEN THOUSAND OTHER ARTICLES 

Tf@@ NUMgeftOM TO) MICTION, 
NO. 17 FRONT STREET, 

Oliester, 111, 



152 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 




Front Street, Chester, 111., 

Where may be constantly found a good supply of first class 

SAMtl HORSES, 
PROMPT DRIVING HORSES, OPEN AND TOPPED BUGGIES, & CARRIAGES, 

Which will be let on the most reasonable terms. Passengers con- 
veyed to any point on short notice. Horses fed by the day or week. 



m 



llllil MOB 



I 



Corner of Maine and St. Louis Streets, 

SPARTA, ILLINOIS. 



THIS WELL KNOWN 



ff ©Is 






®*S&; 



Having recently undergone repairs, now offers superior 
attractions to the traveling public. Fully determined 
that every attention shall be given to the wants of 
those who favor this House with their patronage, the 
Proprietor respectfully solicits a call, feeling satisfied 
that he will be able to render his guests comfortable. 

J8^ Stages for St. Louis, Belleville, and Chester, 
leave this House daily. 

J. P. GUTELIUS, Proprietor. 



SPARTA. 



■*♦»- 



The ground on which the City of Sparta now stands 
Avas originally purchased and owned by John Armour, 
an emigrant from Pennsylvania, who located upon it 
in the year 1826. He erected a small log house, and 
made a farm upon the ground. Anticipating the wants 
of the growing settlements around him, and being a 
man of enterprise, he erected and put in operation a 
tread-mill, which stood near the spot now occupied by 
the Mansion House. The erection of this mill was the 
" circumstance" to which the city owes its existence. 
Eobert Gr. Shannon, (who was then keeping a store 
one mile south of the embryo town,) seeing that nearer 
the mill would be a better locality for selling goods, 
purchased a small quantity of Mr. Armour's land, and 
erected a small store house near the locality where now 
stands the large brick building known as " Shannon's 
Old Store House." Here he commenced that success- 
ful business career which so distinguished him through 
a long life, and which has left an enduring name in the 
annals of Sparta. 

With a mill and a store as a basis for a town, the 
enterprising proprietor had his land surveyed into town 
lots, and proceeded to dispose of them at public auc- 
tion. The first lot sold was purchased by Samuel 



154 RANDOLPH COUNTT 

Hill, for the sum of four dollars. This sale took place 
in the year 1829, from which period the place may date 
its existence, as it commenced to improve and assume 
the character of a village from that time. 

During the same year, James McClurken, whose 
name was intimately connected with the progress of 
the place for thirty years, built a house on the hill 
southeast of the town. In the same year, Lawson 
Murphy, another of the prominent citizens of the 
place, established a brickyard, and commenced making 
brick. Aleut the same lime, Cornhill Ballard built 
a shop, and commenced blacksmithing. Alexander 
Campbell established a carpenter shop. Several dwell- 
ings were erected in the same year. In the spring of 
1830, Dr. Pyles, then a young man, came to the town 
and opened a school. The year following, James A. 
Foster settled in the town, and has been a citizen ever 
since. Dr. Joseph Farxon, who has been the leading 
physician of the town and vicinity for many years, 
located in 1830. In 1833, William H. McDill opened 
a hotel. In 1834, John A. Wilson, John Little, John 
Gray, Thomas Gaston, and John W. Slade, became 
citizens of the town, and gave it quite an impetus for 
improvement. Slade & McClurken est abli shed a 
store — the second in the place. 

The prospects of the town induced a steady increase 
of population and business importance. Sufficient 
progress had been made to establish the certainty of 
building a town, and the beautiful location and the rich 
farming lands around, which have since been reduced 
to a high state of cultivation, increased the induce- 
ments for persons to locate. In 1836, the town received 
a valuable acquisition in the person of William Eos- 
borough, who established the well known and exten- 



DIRECTORY. 155 

sive mercantile house of which he is the senior partner. 
Tie opened his store first in the neighborhood four 
miles from Sparta, but seeing the advantages of the 
location and prospects of the place, lie moved into 
town. 

In 1837, the town was incorporated, and received the 
name of Columbus. The first Board of Town Trus- 
tees consisted of Dr. Joseph Farnon, Lawson Mur- 
phy, Johx A. Wilson, James A. Poster, and John W. 
Slade. A code of ordinances was enacted, and the 
town government put in successful operation. The 
first business transacted by the Board was imposing a 
line of one dollar upon Eobert G. Shannon for the 
offense of leaving his wagon in the street during the 
night. 

The brick School House, known in later years as 
"Sparta Seminary," was built in 1838, and though 
somewhat antiquated in appearance now, it was then a 
magnificent structure, far in advance of the times. It 
gave to Sparta her reputation for schools, which she 
has always sustained with high credit to herself, and 
advantage to the youth. 

In 1839, a steam grist and saw mill was erected by 
James McClurken. This gave an additional import- 
ance to the commercial interests of the place, and new 
improvements immediately followed. Mr. McClurken 
had previously put in operation a cotton gin, which 
stood south of the town. Cotton was raised and 
shipped in considerable quantities from this county 
thirty years ago. 

In the same year — 1839 — the " Columbus Herald" 
was established by James Morrow. He conducted 
the paper nearly a year, and sold it to John E. Det- 
rich. It was during the year 1839 that the name of 



156 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

the town was changed from Columbus to Sparta, and 
Mr. Dktrich changed the name of his paper to " Sparta 
Democrat." 

The first oil mill for the manufacture of castor oil 
was put in operation by James McClukken. in 1840. 
The manufacture of castor oil, and the buying of castor 
beans, formed an important item in the commerce of 
Sparta for many years. Oil mills were afterwards 
erected by E. G. Shannon and William Rosborough, 
and the farmers in the vicinity found a ready market 
at these mills for their castor beans, of which great 
quantities were raised. 

In 1843, the members of the Associate Reformed 
Church commenced the erection of their spacious brick 
building, which was completed three years after. The 
congregation had been organized some years before, 
and the Rev. William M. Graham was the preacher. 
He was succeeded, in 1847, by Rev. David McDill, a 
distinguished minister of that denomination. Rev. 
John F. Stuart succeeded Dr. McDill two years ago, 
ami is now the pastor of the church. 

In 1842, a .Methodist Society was organized by Rev. 
M. Martree. A church building was erected in ls4 s . 
and the pulpit has been supplied by the various mini>>- 
tere appointed by the Methodist Conference. 

A Baptist Church was organized by Re\ .-. II. S. 
Deppe, in 1854. A church building was erected the 
following year. Rev. J. B. Campbell is the regular 
minister. 

One of the most important additions to the business 
of Sparta, was the erection, in 1850, of a Woolen Fac- 
tory, by the Messrs. Mc-Clurkkn. [t was constructed 
at a heavy expense, and has been in successful opera- 
tion, ever since. The present proprietor, Mr. Thomas 



DIRECTORY. 157 

McClurken, has made additions to its manufacturing 
capacity during this season, and now the wool growers 
of this and adjoining counties have a ready market for 
their wool. 

Since 1853, two largo merchant mills have been 
erected, each one with a capacity of producing two 
hundred and fifty barrels of flour per day. The con- 
struction of these mills w T as the work of joint stock 
associations, and the enterprises have given a fresh 
impetus to the raising of wheat, which is now pro- 
duced as a staple crop. 

At the last session of the General Assembly, Sparta 
obtained a City Charter, which went into operation a> 
few months ago. At the Charter Election, the follow- 
ing city officers were elected : 

JOHN A. WILSON, Mayor. 

aldermen : 

First Ward. — Robert Gammell and John Watson. 

Second Ward. — Matthew McClurken and Hugh Kirkpatrnjk. 

Third Ward. — J. F. MpOandless and John W. McCormaok. 

Fourth Ward. — Egbert J. Harmer and Samuel Niel. 

Street Commissioner. — James Laughlin. 

Treasurer. — Joseph McITknhv. 

Assessor. — H. C. McCormack. 

A steady increase of all the concomitants of a town 
has marked the progress of Sparta from its commence- 
ment. Situated in the centre of one of the most fertile 
and eligible farming regions in Illinois, the town was 
surrounded by a class of industrious, enterprising and 
practical farmers, who have reduced the soil to a high 
state of cultivation, which has produced a healthy ad- 
vancement in every department of commerce. 

The young city now contains ten dry goods stores; 
14 



15-S RANDOLPH OOUHTT DIRECTORY. 

three grocery stores; une boot and shoe store and man- 
ufactory; three boot and shoe shops; two stove and tin- 
ware stores; three tailor shops; one jewelry store; 
three millinery shops; two confectionery stores; one 
bakery; two furniture stores; two saddlery and har- 
ness shops; two wagon, one plow, and four blacksmith 
shops; one steam barrel manufactory; two flouring 
mills; one saw mill; one woolen factory; three hotels; 
three churches; three school houses; one academy; two 
literary societies; one library; five physicians; three 
lawyers; four resident ministers. 



SPARTA DIRECTORY. 



ALLEN AARON M.. merchant. 
Abernathy Thomas, carpen- 
ter. 
Aitkin James, carpenter. 
Anderson Francis B., lawyer. 
Anderson Noble, farmer. 
Anderson William, shoemaker. 
Askins William P., engineer. 
Asking John, tinner. 
Allen Andrew, teamster. 



William, cabinet maker. 
Camp M., carpenter. 
Chapman Hiram, shoemaker. 
Caldwell William J., jobber. 
Chalmbers William G., saddler. 
Caruthers Caleb, blacksmith. 
Caruthers Finley, do 
Calderwood Hugh, superinten- 
(1m nt of Sparta mill. 



I>R0W2S LEMUEL A. C, stove 
) merchant. 
Brown M. M.. Rev., principal of 

Union Academy. 
Brown Samuel, tinner. 
Brown Kinsley, tinner. 
Brown John Lyman, proprietor 

of "Herald and Press." 
Brown Nicholas II., tinner. 
Brown James C, carpenter. 
Brown James S.. miller. 
Baird William M., carpenter. 
Baird Reuben, do 

Baird George C, do 

Baty Francis H., trader. 
Baily Reuben, keeps livery. 
Bal d r i < I g e William. 
Brown Thomas. 

Beaver David, furniture dealer. 
Brunson Frederick, shoemaker. 
Bascom Arthur W., teamster. 



pAMPBELL LOUIS II., painter. 
\_ } Clcndenin Henry S.. saddler. 



DETRICII JOHN E., merchant. 
Detrich Jacob S. furnitur* 
dealer. 
Dickey James, laborer. 
Dobbins John S., blacksmith. 
Dobbins Andrew, wagonmaker. 



EDWARD CROSLEY, spinner 
in factory. 
Edgar William, book merchant. 
Edminston Abner. 
Eekuph. 



FARNAN JOSEPH, physician 
and druggist. 
Farnan James, physician, 
Fairborn John, laborer. 
Foster Robert L.. expressman. 
Ferris D. S.. minister. 



GARDNER HENRY, trader. 
Gardner Nicholas, grocer. 



160 RANDOLPH COUNTY 





SPARTA LIVERY STABLE. 

D. RIGDON & CO., 

Would respectfully announce to the citizens of Sparta and the pub- 
lic in general, that they are now prepared to accommodate all who 
may favor them with their patronage. Having recently made large 
additions to their stock, they can now accommodate all with 

SADDLE HORSES, 
top cfc oFZEraar bttg-g-xezs, 

AND 

Of a superior quality, and on the most reasonable terms. 

Persons wishing to be conveyed to different points, can be ac- 
commodated in good style, on the shortest notice. 

JZ&* Horses stabled and fed by the day or week. 

SPARTA 

DRUG AND BOOK STORE. 

JOSEPH FARNAN, 



WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IN 



DRUGS, MEDICINES, 

paints, oils, ^fH^ VARNISHES, 







Stationery , and Fancy Articles ; Patent Medicines ; 
Paints, Oils, and Varnishes; Books and Station- 
ery ; Notions and Fancy Articles ; Win- 
dow Glass, of the best quality. 

Also, Paint, Varnish and Cloth Brushes ; Candies, Spices, Ac. 

Jg§- Physicians and Country Merchants supplied at a very 
small per cent, above St. Louis Prices. Prescriptions compounded 
-at all hours. Store on the corner of St. Louis and Broad streets. 



DIRECTORY. 



1*1 



Gardner Fayette, carpenter. 

Goddard J. H., 

Goddard William B., carpenter. 

Gillebran Adam, laborer. 

Gammill Robert, miller. 

Gerred Hugh, lumber merchant. 

Gorsuch Elijah, )>oot and shoe 

merchant. 
Gorsuch M. (}.. physician and 

druggist. 
Gordon James, merchant. 
(J ray James, baker. 
Gray John, tailor. 
Gutherie Hugh R., physician. 
Guteliua John F., inn keeper. 
Gray William. 
Grenslet E., cooper. 
Gobsan Robert, stone mason. 
Gr&ham George, shoemaker. 



Laird Isaac, cooper. 
Laird Martin, do 



HARMER ROBERT J., clerk of 
union mill. 
Hood Archibald. 
Hood James, merchant. 
Hood Robert, do 
Hood John. 
Hood William, mason. 
Hopkins Richard R., physician. 
Hudson John, salesman. 



K1RKPATRICK JOHN, miller. 
Kirkpatrick Hugh, inn 
keeper. 
Klene Benjamin, brickmaker. 



LONG ZACHARIAH, tinner. 
Lexton Matthew, teamster. 
Luther A. A. 

Lahmann Bartley, butcher. 
Lafferty Jesse, groom, 
Lawson Murphy, teamster. 
Lawson Mary A., confectioner. 
Latt.imore Joseph, mason. 
Little R. B., merchant. 
Lindsay Samuel, wagon maker. 
Luther James M. C, cabinet- 
maker. 

*14 



MAXWELL JAMES, teamster. 
Matlock William L., plas- 
terer. 

Miller A ndrew. jeweler. 

Miller James W., 

Minner John W., ambrotypist. 

Monroe William. 

Morn w John B., teamster. 

Murphy William P., lawyer. 

Murphy David. 

Murphy John Calvin. 

Maxwell Thomas C, farmer. 

McMillan William H., farmer. 

McLain Thoron, carpenter. 

McLain Daniel, do 

McCutcheon John M.. express- 
man. 

McCandless James F. 

McCormaek John W., blacksmith. 

McCormack Matthew S., mer- 
chant. 

McCormaek William, inn keeper. 

McCormack Hugh C, merchant. 

McClurken Thomas, factory mer- 
chant. 

McClurken Matthew, farmer. 

McDonald Robert. 

McDill Robert. 

McDill Thomas, printer. 

McHenry Joseph, merchant. 

HcHenry Robert, M., teacher. 

McHenry Francis. 

McKay John L., tailor. 

McMillan John R., teamster. 

McDonald Marshall, do 



■VTEWSON ARCHIBALD. 
l\ Newman Augustus, barber. 
Neill Samuel, harness maker. 
Neill John, blacksmith. 
Naylor Presley. 







RR THOMAS A. 
and te? *nster. 



K., butcher 



162 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



m 






HL 



1 SELECT STOCK 

OF 1 

DRY GOODS, 



ill; 



11 f 1 



HARDWARE, 



AND 



HATS AND CAPS, 
BOOTS AJSTD SHOES, 

cibo., cfco., 

Kept constantly on hand by the undersigned, 

MAIN STREET, SPARTA, 

CHEAPER THAN THE CHEAPEST. 

x\ll kinds of Produce will be taken in exchange for 
Goods at Market prices. 

J. B PARKS 



DIRECTORY. 



163 



Orr Craton, blacksmith. 
Osburn E. James, painter. 



F., 



PATTESON ROBERT 
keeps livery. 
Parks James B., merchant. 
Perkins Jeremiah C, keeps saloon 

and variety store. 
Perkins Ephraim, blacksmith. 
Perkins Elias, do 

Pawel James, oculist. 
Pyles Lucius, carpenter. 
Palmer P. W., cooper. 



Skelley John, laborer. 
Skelley William. 
Skelley James, painter. 
Simpson George, physician. 
Shiner John, teamster. 
Saunders James, carpenter. 
Sanders Thomas, tinner. 
Sanders George, wagon maker. 



K OS BOROUGH WILLIAM, 
merchant. 
Rosborough Robert, salesman. 
Raybron Francis, blacksmith. 
Rea William, teamster. 
Rigdon David, keeps livery. 
Roseman Henry, merchant. 



STEVENSON WILLIAM A., 
wagon maker. 
Stormant H. C, carpenter. 
Stuart John F., minister. 
Spindle Edward J., laborer. 
Sherlock Richard, teamster. 
Smith Henry, tailor. 
Stevensmi William J., merchant. 
Shannon John R. 
Shannon James. 
Shannon Moses F. 
Skelley Alexander. 



TA\ LOR JOHN, justice of th» 
peace. 
Taylor James H., merchant. 
Taylor Hugh C, do 

Telfard William, shoemaker. 
Treat Joseph, laborer. 
Taylor James, d< 



WATSON JOHN, merchant. 
Wood Sidney, carpenter. 

Wilson Samuel. 

Wilson Samuel, constable and 
city marshal. 

Wilson John A., postmaster and 
mavor. 

Wilson William F. 

Wise Daniel, salesman. 

Wolfington P., laborer. 

Whitim George, barrel manufac- 
turer. 

Watson James, stone mason. 

White Andrew J., cooper. 



Y 



ONTZ JOHN, miller. 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE S WEST. -SPARTA. 



BAIRD SAMUEL P.. farmer. 
Baird P., do 

Beattie, do 

Beattie J. M., do 

Becket A. G., do 

Blair John M., do 



Blair J. H.. 


farmer 


Blair D , 


do 


Blair William, 


do 


Blair James, 


do 


Blair Alexander. 


do 


Blackmore. 





164 RANDOLPH COT MY 



JOHN TAYLOR, 

BR REfOBDEB, ilfl OF THE PEACE, 

NOTARY PUBLIC ; 

Will attend to collecting claims on commission or otherwise. 

OFFICE ON BROADWAY, SPARTA, ILL. 

Jurisdiction as Recorder in debt or damages, $506 00. 




"'§3 '^ 'Qp ' i '«i ,<s «s ! 



m 

IMC- LA"WSON 

Keeps constantly on hand Chocolate. Oysters, Crackers. Cheese, 
Nuts of every kind, Tobacco, Cigars, Mackerel. Soap. Candles, Salt, 
Tea, Brooms, Baskets, Toys, Hoop Skirts, and Notions, of every va- 
riety, at her old stand on MAIN STREET, one door east of the 
Shannon House, 

SPARTA, ILLINOIS, 
Where she hopes to receive a liberal share of public patronage. 



PEOPLES SALOON, 

Main Street, Sparta, Illinois, 
J. O. PERKINS, Proprietor. 

Dealer in all kinds of Confectionery ; Foreign and Domestic 
Fruits; Nuts, Oysters, and Sardines; Tobacco and Cigars; Fancy 
Perfumery and Hair Oils. All descriptions of Family Groceries, <fce. 

Also, Ice Cream, Soda, and Refreshments. 



FRANCIS B. ANDERSON, 

ATTORNEY AID COUNSELOR AT 1AW, 

AND 

SOLICITOR IN CHANCERY; 

Will attend with fidelity and promptness to all business entrusted 
to him, and connected either directly or indirectly with his profes- 
sion, whether in the United States or elsewhere. 

OFFICE ON MAIN STREET, SPARTA, ILLINOIS. 



DIRECTORY. 



165 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 6 WEST.— SPARTA. 



Borders Andrew, farmer. 



Boyd William, 
Boyd James J., 
Boyd Robert V., 
Boyd Samuel, 
Boyd Thomas. 
Boyd David B., 
Boyd James, 
Brown Joseph Jr., 
Brown James M., 
Brown David, 
Brown Joseph Sr., 
Brown Henry B., 
Brown Charles E., 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



CHANDLER NOEL, farmer. 
Chalmbers Thomas A. 
Chalmbers David. 
Clendenin James H., farmer. 
Couch John, do 

Cooper William, do 

Cooper James A., do 

Coulter John, do 

Crothers B. L., blacksmith. 
Cunningham John R., farmer. 
Cunningham James W., do 
Cunningham George V., farmer 

and teacher. 
Cunningham Robert, farmer. 



DIAL ISAAC, farmer. 
Dillman John, farmer. 
Dickey George, do 

Dawer John. do 



FELLERS JOHN G., farmer. 
Finley Francis, do 

Foster William, do 

Frazier William Sr., do 
Frazier William Jr., do 



GROSS ANDERSON, farmer. 
Gross George Sr., 
Gross George W., 



HENDERHOFF PETER, far- 
mer. 
Hegens David W., farmer. 
Hood John, do 

Hood Alexander, do 
Houston John d<> 



KELL JOHN F., farmer. 
Kinny Alexander, farmer. 



L EMMONS JACOB, farmer, 

Lessley R. M., do 

Lessley Alexander, do 

Lively A. P., do 

Lively William, do 

Lively Turner, do 

Lochead J. M.. do 

Lyle Thomas, do 



M ALONE JAMES, collier. 
Mann John B., farmer. 
Martin William, do 

Mathews William. do 
Miller John, do 

Mirott John, wagonmaker. 
Marrow Wuliarn, farmer. 
Marrow James C, do 
Morris Ephraim, do 
Morris William Jr. 
Morris Isaac, do 

Murphy A. B., do 

McAnullty James H., farmer. 
McAtee John A., do 

McConachie David, do 
McDonald David, do 

McDoland James H., do 
McDonald Levi, do 

MeDaniel Jamos. do 

McDill N. B., do 

McDill Archibald M., do 
McDill David A., do 

McGee James, do 

McLaughlan Matthew, do 



166 



R A N DOLP H CO U N T Y 



N. H. BROWN, 



WBOLB8ALB AND RETAIL DEALER in 




BROADWAY, SPARTA, ILL. 



JAMES FARNAN, 

hptrimt ami JSttrj^ro, 

Tenders his professional services to the citizens of 

Sparta m® viemrrY. 

OfB.co on. Broadway, 

mmmmxmmMz 




TINLEY R. CROTHERS, 

BLACKSMITH AND PLOWMAKER, 

BROADWAY, SPARTA, ILL. 

All work warranted, and his Plows not excelled by any. 

S PAETA C ITY. 

J. S. DETRICH, 

Dealer and manufacturer of all kinds of 









And Undertaker of Funerals in :* 1 1 its branches, &c, Ac. 



DIRECTORY. 



167 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE C> WEST.— SPARTA. 



McNeil William St\, farmer. 
McNeil William Jr., do 
McHt'nry William, do 



TEMPLE DA VII). farmer. 



ORR TMOMAS, farmer, 
Orr John, 
Orr John P., 



PARKS JOHN, farmer. 
Parks James Gh, farm< 
Parks A. W., do 

Parks Alfred, 

Parks John M., 

Parks Thomas A., do 

Perkins George H.. do 

Press! v Samuel, do 



R 



ITOHEY WILLIAM. 
Robinan Frederick. 



SINCLAIR ROBERT. 
Stewart William. 



T 



Temple William, 


do 


Townsand David, 


do 


Toverea Arthur T., 


do 


WE IK ROBERT Sr., 
VV Weir James N., 


farmer 


do 


Weir Samuel T., 


do 


Weir William, 


do 


Weir Samuel, 


do 


Weir James B., 


do 


Weir John, 


do 


Wilson Henry J., 


do 


Wilson William F., 


farmer 


Wilson David, 


do 


Wilson Martin W., 


do 


Wo 1 ford Frederick, 


do 


Wolford Daniel, 


do 


Wolford George, 


do 


Wright Stephen Sr., 


do 


Wright Stephen Jr.. 


do 


Wylie Samuel M., 


do 


Wylie John Sr., 


do 


Wylie James G., 


do 



YATES E., farmer, 
Young William, farmer. 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE WEST.— SPARTA. 



ANDERSON THOMAS, farmer. 
Anderson J. A. P., do 

Anderson Archie, do 

Armour James C, do 



B 



LOCK ANDREW, farmer. 
Block N. N., do 



Borders M. W., farmer. 

Borders Jas. J., do 

Borders Elias K., do 

Boyle Thompson, do 

Boyle Adam, do 

Bolye James, do 

Burnett Wm., do 

Burns Joseph, do 



168 RANDOLPH COUNTY 





JEWELRY STORE. 

A. MILLER 

Keeps constantly on hand, at his old stand, 

MAINE STREET, - - SPARTA, ILLINOIS, 

A SELECT ASSORTMENT OP 

ili fe) ^h 'wu %! « % ! i!\ 



AND 



FANCY ARTICLES, 

Which he offers to the public 

CHEAP FOR CASH. 



Repairing Clocks and Watches done on short, notice, in the 
best manner, "*^g^ 



JOHN W. MINNER'S 



MIM, 

AND 



ptatajraptuc (galtyrg. 

Keeps constantly on hand all Photographic Material. 

THREE DOORS WEST OF PUBLIC SQUARE, 

MAINE STREET, SPARTfl. ILLINOIS. 

H. R. GUTHRIE, M. D., 

OFFICE, BROAD STREET, 

SPARTA, fLUN@(8. 



DIRECTORY. 



169 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE WEST.— SPARTA. 



CAMPBELL JOHN, farmer, 

Campbell Thos., do 

Cathcart Wm. J. S., do 

Catheart Richard, do 

Cathcart R. B., do 

Cathcart C. M., do 

Cathcart James, do 

Cathcart John, do 

Chassells A. M., do 

Christy Jus., do 

Crawford Wm., do 

Cuthbertson Alex., do 

Cuthbertson Robert, do 



DANLEY THOMAS, farmer. 
Dunn William M., do 
Dunn James W., do 

Dunn John, do 



EDGAR A. J., farmer. 
Edgar W. M., farmer, 



Edgar R. M., 


do 


Edgar James, 


do 


Edgar William S., 


do 


Ewing Samuel, 


do 


Ewing John, 


do 



FULTON JAMES, farmer. 

Finley William, do 

Finley Thomas, do 

Finley James, do 

Finiey Matthew, do 

Fawlds James, do 

Fulton William, do 



GREER HUGH, former. 
Gregg Samuel, do 
Gray R. W., do 

Gray A. F.. do 

15 



HARWELL J. C, farmer. 
Hemphill Matthew, farmer. 
Hetherington George, do 

Hetherington James, do 

Houston William, do 

Houston William. do 



JOHNSON WILLIAM, farmer. 



KEYS JOSEPH, farmer. 
Kilpatrick John, farmer. 
Kirkwood Robert, do 

Kirkwood Matthew, do 



LESLIE SAMUEL, farmer. 

Lackey William, do 

I Leslie M. M., do 

j Lindsay John H., do 

i Lindsay Thomas B., do 

1 Little William, do 

Little William C, do 

! Lightbody R. W., do 

Lynn Joseph, do 

Lynn William R., do 

Lynn John, do 

Lyons R. W., do 

Lyons G., do 



MARSHALL R. W., physician. 
Marshall J. J., farmer. 
Marshall Adam, teacher. 
Matthews Joseph B., farmer. 
Matthews James, do 

Meek Samuel J. B., do 
Meek William. do 

Morrison Robert, do 

Murphy James H.. do 
McBride A., do 

Mc Bride John. do 

Me( Ilintoa James, do 



170 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



r% 



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DIRECTORY. 



171 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 6 WEST.— SPARTA. 



McClinton William, farmer. 
McHatton Armour, do 
Mclntyre John, do 

Mcllvain A., 'do 

McKelvev Alex. R.. do 
McKelvey S. W., do 

McMastera James. do 

McMillan -lames II.. do 
McMillan William T., do 
McMurdo John, do 

McMurdo-William, do 



lATTERSON R. L., farmer. 



RANKIN ROBERT, farmer. 
Redpath R., do 

Redpath James H., do 

Ritchey James M., farmer and 
coal merchant. 
Ritchey Robert J., farmer. 
Rieddle Joseph, do 

Rodgers Samuel J., do 
Rodgers A., do 

Rodgers W., do 

Rutherford William, do 
Rutherford Robert, do 



QCHR1DER HENRY Rev. 
iO Short Thomas, farmer. 
Smith Moore Jr. do 

Smith James C, do 

Smiley James, do 

Stevenson Michael Sr., farmer. 



TEMPLE ROBERT, farmer. 
Toverea Bartley, do 
Tweede Hugh, do 

Tweede David, do 

Tweede John, do 



T17ALKER JAMES, 
VY Walker William 


farmer 


, do 


Wallace James, 


do 


Welsh James, 


do 


White Francis, 


do 


Wilson Hugh, 


do 


Wood William, 


do 


Wylie John, 


do 


Wvlie Alex., 


do 


Wylie Robert C, 


do 


"VTEOMAN DAVID, 


farmer. 



172 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



J. A. FOSTER, 

Sparta, 111. 



DEALER IX 






£3 







HATS, CAPS, BOOTS, SHOES, 
GROCERIES, QUEENSWAREp HARDWARE, RAILS, IRON, 

nmm nisi, ready-made mhii; 

In short, a general assortment of Merchandise, suitable to tbe wants 
of the consumer — all of which are offered at the lowest prices. The 
public are invited to examine. 



JOHN E. DETRBCH, 

Main Street, Sparta, Illinois. 

DEALER KN 



«y 



DRY 



a 



9 



QUEENSWARE, GLASSWARE, BOOTS AI SHOES, 

HATS AND CAPS, 

CLOTHING, GROCERIES, TOBACCO, 

And all kinds of Merchandise suited to tbe wants of the trade gen- 
erally. 



DIRECTORY. 173 



OF 



SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 



SPARTA 




< - » » ► 



I have made large additions to my Factory, of new 

Jmjjrflunl Jtlatltittcrg, 

And am manufacturing and will keep a large stock at 
all seasons, of the following Goods, manufactured by 
me with special reference to durability : 

iifiiifs, iisiiiius, 

INDIGO BLUE AND MIXED 

JEANS, 

BED-BLANKETS, 

PMID, RED, PLAIN COLORED k WHITE MMM, 

KN1CTTINQ 

AND SINGLE YARNS OF ALL SIZES. 

Custom Carding and Spinning, Fulling, Coloring, 
and Finishing, done on short notice. Persons from a 
distance always accommodated at the time they brino- 
their Wool. 

THOS. McCLURKBN. 

N. B. — Wool and Grease wanted in exchange. 
*15 



174 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 




WM. ROSBQROUGH & CO, 
SPARTA. ILLINOIS. 



THE OLDEST HOUSE IN THE COUNTY. 

ESTABLISHED IN THE YEAK 1835. 



Have always on hand the largest and most com- 
plete Stock of 

CLOTHING, 






WWw 

GROCERIES, 



HATS AND CAPS, 
BOOTS AND SHOES, &C, &C, 

That* is offered in the market, to which they invite the 
attention of 

m m mm paying n 

SPARTA, October, 1859. 



DIRECTORY. 



175 






NEW LIVERY STABLE. 

BARTLEY TOVERA 

Would respectfully announce to the citizens of Sparta and vicinity, 
that he has opened a new and splendid Stahle on 

ST. LOUIS STREET, SPARTA, ILLINOIS, 

Where he will keep constantly on hand 

SADDLE AND BUGGY HORSES, 

CAR.RIAGW3S, 

OPEN AND TOP BUGGIES, 

Of the best quality; and will accommodate all who may favor him 
with their custom on more reasonable terms than ever offered in the 
city. He hopes, by strict attention to his business, to merit a liberal 
share of public patronage. 



M. G-. GORSUCH, M. D., 
SPARTA, ILLINOIS. 

DEALER IN 

DRUGS, MEDICINES, I CHEMICALS, 

DYE-WOODS AM DYE-STUFFS, 

QiljLS, PABWT8, ANB PAINTERS' AP.TICUE3,, 



VARNISHES, 
Window f&im una iu% Wtiammt, 



FliEM'H 



Mi) 11 



Fine Toilet and Shaving Soaps, fine Hair and Tooth Brushes, 
Paint Brushes. Surgical and Dental Instruments, Spices, Snuffs, 
Manufactured Tobacco : all the Patent Medicines of the day : Pure 
Wines and Brandies, for medicinal purposes; Choice Toilel and 
Fancy Articles, etc., ete. 



17(5 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



SPARTA & CHESTER. 






SPARTA, ATHENS, BELLEVILLE, 

AND 

St. Louis Daily Mail and 
PASSENGER COACH LINE. 

Having secured a Daily Mail Contract between the above points, 
I have established a Daily Coach Line for the accommodation of the 
traveling public — leaving Sparta every morning (Sundays excepted) 
at 6 o'clock, A. M., for Chester : returning, leaves Chester every day 
(Sundays excepted) at 2, P. M., arriving in Sparta the same even- 
ing ; leaving Sparta for Athens, Belleville, and St. Louis, every 
morning, (Sundays excepted.) at 6 A. M., arriving at St. Louis the 
same evening ; leaving St. Louis every morning at 6 A. M. from No. 
60 Collins street, King".- Hotel, the Post Office, Green Tree Tavern, 
arriving at Sparta on the same evening. 



1 ALSO BUN THE 



I1CIIY1 III 

FREIGHT & EXPRESS WAGONS 

On the above routes, and will carry Freight at usual rate? with 
promptness and safety, between any of the above points. I will also 
attend to Express Business of any kind, to any part of the United 
States or Europe. Packages or money forwarded to any part of the 
world having Express connections. Will buy and sell Drafts and 
Bills of Exchange on any part of the world. Will also attend to 
making collection of notes and accounts. Business of any kind en- 
trusted to my care will be faithfully and promptly attended to. 
Orders respectfully solicited. I can be seen Wednesdays and Thurs- 
days, at No. 60, Collins' street, and Saturdays and Mondays at my 
office in Sparta. 

JOHN M. McCUTOHEON. 



DIRECTORY. 177 



1839. I860, 

FALL AND WINTER STOCK. 

&. c&? n.. HOOD, 

WHOLESALE ANH RETAIL MERCHANTS, 

Broadway, Sparta, 111., 

Have received, direct from the East, a large, splendid, and carefully 
selected Stock of 

FALL k WINTER GOODS. 

Our Stock consists in part of a large and most fashionable 
Stock of 

GENTLEMEN AND YOUTH'S CLOTHiNG AND FUBNISKING GOODS, 

All of which they warrant to fit, or no sale. Also, Black, Brown, and 
Drab Cloths, Doe Skins, Casinetts, Cassimeres, 

BLACK, FANCY, AND FIGURED SILKS, 

Alj^accas, Delaines, French, English, and American Prints, Ging- 
hams, Ribbons, Dress Trimmings, Lace, Notions, Shawls, Mantillas, 
Hats and Caps, Boots and Shoes, Hardware, Cutlery, Glassware, 
Queensware, and a full Stock of Groceries. The highest market 
price paid for merchantable produce. 



NEW GOODS. NEW GOODS. 

McHBNRY & WATSON, 

Cor. of Broad & McMillan Streets, Sparta, 111., 

Are now receiving and opening a large and attractive Stock of 
Goods from the East, which, for variety and beauty of style, are 
unsurpassed. Our Stock consists of 

DRY-GOODS, 

OLOTHIKTG-, 

HATS AND CAPS, 
BOOTS A.ISTD SHOES, 

HARDWARE, 

QUEENSWAKE AND GROCERIES. 
We invite all persons coming to trade in Sparta to give us a call 
and examine our prices. To cash and produce customers, we offer 
liberal inducements. 



178 RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY 





V 



Wisui, iiiiiiii. liiif 



AND 



PLOW MANUFACTORY, 

EDEN, - - - - ILLINOIS. 

The undersigned having put in operation a STEAM 
EXGIXE for driving the machinery in his .shop, is now 
prepared to manufacture 

WAGONS, 

CARRIAGES, 

BUGGIES, 

PLOWS, 

And all kinds of 

On short notice. In the manufacture of these articles 
the very best material is used, and durability is guar- 
anteed. Only workmen of 

SUPERIOR SKILL AND EXPERIENCE 

are employed. My facilities for manufacturing will 
enable me to supply the larger portion of 

SOUTHE1RN IIiLIIXrOIS. 

A. H. BURLINGHAME. 



EDEN. 



Rev. Samuel Wylie purchased and located upon the 
site of Eden, in the year 1822-3. Sometime afterwards, 
Adam Wylie and James Ford located in the place. At 
that time there were but few settlers in the adjacent 
country, and the idea of making a town probably had 
not entered into the minds of the proprietors. Eev. 
Mr. Wylie had collected together a congregation of his 
church, and held public services in a house down near 
where the grave yard is. As the immigrants came in- 
to the county, they were induced to settle around this 
place, in order to enjoy the privileges of the church. 
The congregation, therefore, increased as rapidly as the 
country was settled. About the year 1833, the spacious 
brick church in which Mr. Wylie's congregation still 
worship was erected. This was the beginning of the 
town. About the same time the congregation suffered 
a division, and the seceding portion erected another 
large church in three years afterwards. Two spacious 
churches and a few dwellings around them now stood 
upon the beautiful little mound in the prairie, and sug- 
gested to the proprietor, who appreciated the beautiful, 
the idea of building a town, wdiich should be called 
Eden. It was then the closest type of Eden of any 
spot in Illinois. 



180 RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 

Iii the year 1837, a portion of the land was surveyed 
into town lots, and but a short time afterwards Eden 
contained a store, oil mill, carding machine, foundry 
and machine shop, and many other town fixtures. Its 
churches and its shops have constituted the chief ma- 
terials of interest, and given the character of a relig- 
ious, moral, intelligent and industrious people to its 
inhabitants. The first wagon shop in Eden was estab- 
lished in 1839, by W. E. Brown. Since then several 
others have gone into operation. For many years the 
shops of Eden have supplied a large portion of the 
southern part of Illinois with wagons carriages and 
plows. 

Eev. Samuel Wylie, who is the founder of the place, 
first came to Kaskaskia in 1817, and was the first man 
in Illinois to give form and stability to the Eeformed 
Presbyterian Church. For more than forty years he 
has proclaimed the words of truth and life to the people 
of his church. He alone of the pioneer ministers who 
appeared in Illinois previous to 1818, is living. He is a 
distinguished light in the church, and a faithful gospel 
minister. 

Eden now contains a population of about three hun- 
dred; has one dry goods store; four wagon shops; one 
carriage and plow manufactory; one school house; one 
literary society, with a large library; a Baddlery shop, 
and some other town appendages. 



EDEN DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— EDEN. 



ADAMS G. K., farmer. 
Alexander Ebenezer, farmer. 
Anderson John A. H., do 

Anderson James B., do 

Alexander Walter, nurseryman. 
Armour A. 



BERGFELDT W., farmer. 
Bates Joseph C, blacksmith. 
Banister Oliver, farmer. 
Banister Jesse, do 
Beattie Joseph, do 
Beattie Robert, do 
Bottom Luke, merchant. 
Brooks Robert, farmer. 
Brown George, do 
Brown Hugh, do 
Brown W. R., lumber merchant. 
Brown Lemuel A. C, tinner. 
Burns Samuel, manufacturer. 
Burlinghame A. H., carriage and 

wagon manufacturer. 
Beattie James, farmer. 
Bottom James, blacksmith. 



CALLIGIIEN JOHN, mechanic. 
Campbell James, farmer. 
Campbell J. B. Rev., painter. 
Campbell William, farmer. 
Campbell George, do 
Campbell John, de 

16 



Calvin John, blacksmith. 
Cruthers F. R., ploughmaker, 
Crums Adin. 
Curtis Augustus, farmer. 



DOBBINS THEODORE A., far- 
mer. 
Dobbs Richard, farmer. 
Dickey John, do 
Dickey Alexander S., wagoa- 

maker. 
Dickson Charles. 
Dickey Alexander, farmer. 
Dickey, do 



E 



NOB JAMES, farmer. 



FLACK J. J., farmer. 
Foster A. W., farmer. 
Fulton David, k do 

Fulton John, ,:™: do 



GALLOWAY JAMES, farmer. 
Gaston Samuel, de 

Gaston James, blacksmith. 
Gault il. C. 



182 



RANDOLrn COUNTY 



P B. GAULT. C. IE. GAULT. 

P. B. & O. M GAULT, 



MANUFACTURERS OF 



(» 





Mtt'VjMmpt 



SULKILS, (ti.. &(•, 



E33>3U3^T, - 



JJ III.) IXU) 



This firm has invariably taken the -BLUE BIB- 
BON/' at the County Fair, on Buggies, whenever they 
have exhibited. 

Orders solicited, and filled on short notice. Our 
work is warranted. 



JOHN MIOHAN, 

gltornejj and fyttvmtkt 

JSJT LAW, 

EDEN, . ILLINOIS. 

THOMAS NELSON, 





OSS 

EDEN, ILLINOIS, 

Has Dahlias, Roses, Tulips, Hyacinths, Bulbs, Green- 
house Plants, and Shrubbery. 

fig?" Seeds, known to be genuine, can be obtained 
from me. 



DIRECTORY. 



183 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— EDEN. 



Gault P. B.. wa^onmaker. 
Gault 0. M.. do 

Gordon William C. Sr., farmer, 
Gordon William 0. Jr., do 
Gordon A. J., do 

Gordon John R., do 

Gaston Robert, wagonmaker. 



HARRISON G. W., farmer. 
Hall L. I., do 

Hill Edmund, do 

Hood Joseph, do 

Hughes John M., do 

Hyndeman C. F., carpenter. 
Holden R. L., blacksmith. 



KAVANAUGH DAVID, wagon- 
maker. 
Kyle R. J. 



LEWIS JOHN. 
Lewis Edward. 
Lucas A., farmer. 
Lyle James, farmer. 
Lewis Frank. 
Lewis Abram. 



MILLS STEVEN. 
Maxwell Thomas C, farmer. 
Maxwell John. 

Miller Charles R., do 

More John, carpenter. 
Michael J., farmer. 
McCormack J., farmer. 
McCormack M., do 
McConechie David, farmer. 
McCoughan John, do 
McClinton John, do 
McMillan W. H., do 
McKee Alexander, do 
McKee R. G., do 



McKee William, farmer. 
McKee J. G., do 

McConachie John, do 
McMillan Milton, do 



"VTIMOCK SAMUEL, cabinet 

J_M maker., 

Nelson Thomas, florist. 

Nisbet Samuel T., farmer. 

Nisbet Robert, do 

Nisbet Samuel, do 

Nisbet James, painter. 



PARKER PETER. 
Pattan Joseph, farmer. 
Pillers P. W., do 



ROBBINS CHARLES, farmer. 
Robison Richard, do 

Rosborough James, do 

Robison John S., do 



SHREWSBERRY BENEDICT, 
farmer. 
Snodgrass Reuben, farmer. 
Snodgrass Rilan, do 
Snodgrass Robert, do 
Stuart Alexander, do 
Stuart James, do 

Steele Merit, do 

Steele Martin, do 

Steele Anthony, do 
Stevenson Robert Sr., mercbant. 
Stevenson Michael, Jr., saddler. 
Stevenson John, merchant. 
Steele Albert. 

Stevenson Robert Jr., wagon- 
maker. 
Stevenson Allen, blacksmith. 



184 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— EDEN. 



-«••- 



TTALENTINE JAMES H. 



WATT RICHARD, merchant, 
Ward Josiah, farmer. 
Wilson John, do 

Wilson John, (Irish) do 
Wilson James R., do 
Wilson James C, do 



Wylie Samuel Rev. 
Ward Ryly, farmer. 

Wilson Wilson, 
Wilson M. W., 
Wilson Joseph, 



do 
do 
do 



yUMBRO GEORGE, carpenter. 



RED BUD. 



-*•»- 



This thriving town is situated upon a gradually 
rising eminence in Horse Prairie, near the line which 
divides the counties of Monroe and Eandolph. Its 
history embraces no events of early times to give it 
the interest of antiquity, its origin dating no farther 
back than the year 1844. The first house upon the 
ground where the town now stands was erected in that 
year by Mi*. Eichmond D. Durfee. The year after 
he built a storehouse and commenced selling goods. 
Aboat the same time Samuel Crozier erected a dwel- 
ling, which at that time occupied a position to the south 
of where the town afterwards stood, but it is now 
nearly surrounded with houses. 

In the year 1847, William Simmons, who owned a 
part of the town site, had his land surveyed into town 
lots, and proceeded to dispose of them at public auction. 
The year after, Mr. Durfee had his land surveyed and 
made another public sale. Such was the encourage- 
mcnt received from these two sales that Samuel Cro- 
zier brought his land into market, and found ready 
and anxious purchasers. About the same time a flour- 
ing mill was erected and put in operation a little to 
the northeast of town, which is doing business yet 
*16 



18G RANDOLPH COUNTY 

• 

From this time the town commenced a rapid and 
successful improvement. The first brick building was 
the school house, erected in 1853, since which time bricks 
have been used almost exclusively for building material- 
Soon afterwards followed the erection of a large mer- 
chant mill within the limits of the town, whose capacity 
for grinding is about two hundred and fifty barrels of 
flour per day. This gave an additional impetus to the 
business prosperity of the place, and not long after- 
wards there arose the spacious storehouse of Durfee 
& Crozier, a row of brick buildings covering a large 
portion of a block, a large brick brewery, and many 
other buildings of note and importance. There is now 
in process of construction a large hotel, the cost of 
which will amount to $12,000, and a large storehouse 
by Smith, Allen & Co., which will be an ornament to 
the town. 

Though the growth of the place has been marked by 
a rapidity which seldom attends the progress of inland 
towns, it has not gone in advance of the surrounding 
country, from which it draws its commercial vitality. 
As a farming region, Horse Prairie and its margin of 
undulating timbered land, are unsurpassed in beauty 
and fertility. 

The immense crops of wheat, corn, hay, and pota- 
toes, harvested from the farms in this prairie, would 
put to a severe test the credulity of the toiling farmer 
who gathers his eight and ten bushels per acre from 
the stony hill sides of New England. Among the far- 
mers around Red Bud are to be found the most indus- 
trious, enterprising and wealthy in the county. In this 
fact lies the secret of Eed Bad's prosperity. Every 
inland town depends upon the progress and advancement 
of the country around for its own prosperity. The pros- 



DIRECTORY.^ 187 

perous state of the surrounding country may, therefore, 
be inferred from the amount of business done in Red Bud. 
There are five dry goods stores; six grocery stores; 
two flouring mills; two lumber yards; six merchant 
tailors; one drug store; one brewery; one livery sta- 
ble ; five boot and shoe shops ; three blacksmith shops; 
three wagon manufactories ; one saddlery and harness 
shop ; four hotels ; two brick yards ; four carpenter 
shops ; three cabinet shops ; three tin shops ; one jew- 
elry store ; one ambrotype gallery ; one high school 
supported by the town, independent of the public 
revenue. 



188 RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 

HEAVY STOCK. 

H. D DURFEB & CO., 

At the old stand of Durfee & Crozier, continue to 
keep the 



And sell at lower prices than any other House in South- 
ern Illinois. We would say to our friends in 

•HOE, RANDOLPH, MB ST, CLAIR COUNTIES, 

Fetch on your dimes, and we promise to satisfy you in 

STYLE, QUAUTV, ANQ PRCCi, 

We have always undersold our competitors, and are 
now trying to undersell ourselves. 

RED BTTI3, October. 




N. SMITH. R. J. SMITH. J. R. ALLEN. 

SMITH, ALLEN & CO., 

DEALERS IN 

i r i -is a q § i n i o e u r \w % 

HBI ©■»» irw, WEt -' Hfe Hife w j 
HARDWARE, CUTLERY, &C, U. 

N. W. CORNER MAIN AND MARKET STREETS, 

em mwm w xuiseis. 



J*. ^\T- -A-XjUa^SI^r, 

AGENT FOR /ETNA INSURANCE CO., 

GffiGe, near Residence* in 

RED BUD, ILLINOIS. 



RED BUD DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 8 WEST.— RED BUD. 



ALBERS J. T., merchant. 
Allen J. R., postmaster. 
Allen Miner, farmer. 
Allen J. W., notary public. 
Addams J. R., farmer and justice 

of the peace. 
Allrecht M., plasterer. 
Altman Adam, butcher. 



BERESSON EARNST, farmer. 
Beresson William, do 
Besterbortel Fred, do 

Biffar George, do 

Bartles C. F., do 

Barker Minor, carpenter. 
Barker D. M., do 
Biffar Henry, do 

Blu W., teamster. 
Born John, blacksmith. 
Boge Henry, laborer. 
Bauer Henry, farmer. 
Bada Frederick, do 
Brasse William, do 
Brasse Louis, do 
Brockmin Henry, laborer. 
Bruner John, cooper. 
Bricky William, lumber mer- 
chant. 
Brockmin J. F., shoemaker. 
Bosse Antony, farmer. 
Burgo Louis, do 
Bochoff G., merchant. 
Boergherting Henry, laborer. 
Bush Fred., teamster. 
Bush John, laborer. 



Brasse Henry, farmer. 
Brickey John, miller. 
Brown E. S., laborer. 



CLARK REUBEN, farmer. 
Cline Win, do 

Conoly John, teamster. 
Conoly Charles, do 
Coleman Henry, lawyer. 
Crozier J. L., farmer. 
Cullin Kil Timorty, farmer. 
Cardwell W. J., doctor. 
Crocher James, principal of high 

school. 
Crouda Joseph, carpenter. 



DONOHO MICHAEL, farmer. 
Deterding Fred., wagon- 
maker. 
Deitzel William, druggist. 
Donouse John, farmer. 
Deaker William, do 
Durfee R. D., merchant. 
Davis E. R., do 
Durfee Aaron, retired. 
Dooly Michael, laborer. 



EBERDING CONRAD, farmer. 
Eppers J. W., barkeeper. 
Eisse Frederick, cabinetmaker. 
Eberding Henry, farmer. 



190 



KANDOLPU COUNTY 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 8 WEST.— RED BUD. 



Evans iTmai mer. 

Elig Chri Her. 

Erie P 

Ege] • eki mith. 



FLANIGAN JOHN, farmer. 
Faherfcy Mary do 

Feuerstein Leander, watch- 

ker. 
Fahcrty Edward, farm 
Fink Chat do 

Friel Hugh; barkeeper. 
Forcade Fred., teamster. 



G 



E6TING HENRY, farmer 



Gubert Fred., do 

Gubert William, do 

Gubert Charles, do 

Gore C. G., constable. 
Glenor Julia, farmer. 
Gummel Henry, cabinetmaker. 
Geissaman Henry, teamster. 
Gettleman George, farm -r. 
Green A. N., tinner. 
Gubert Henry, farmer. 
Gubert Christ., do 
Griffin H. B., school teacher. 



HENNA FRED., sehool teacher. 
Harrison R. C., do do 

Haak J. P.. painter. 
Hinesens August, i ; i net i 
Hutb < !harles, laborer. 
Huth August, do 
Haite Joseph, carpenter. 
Heaferain George, carpenter. 
Heuer William, tailor. 
Heuer Henry, brick mason. 
Helbick John, do do 
Hoigle Antony, do do 
Hutb Matliia. farmer. 
Henicker Fred., miller. 
Huber Peter, farmer. 



Haak Mine, farmer. 
Hilgamin William, farmer. 
Hornibutt Fred., do 

ilaake Frank., stone cutter. 
Reining William, hotel keeper. 
Haynes 0. K., do do 

iieir'y Theodore, stone cutter. 
Hef J. C, carpenter. 



JAHLE CHRISTIAN, 
maker. 
Jahle Paul, shoemaker. 
Jahle Joseph, do 



shoe- 



KUKER HENRY, farmer. 
Kuker Fred., do 

Keefer Antony, stone mason. 
Koister Charles, farmer. 
Kline John, tailor. 
Koch Henry do 
Klepper Henry, carpenter. 
Klepper William, do 
Kreamer Charles, farmer. 
Koch Deitrich do 

Knoka Charles. do 



LEIRTY NICHOLAS, teamster. 
Lindess Casper, blacksmith. 
Leifer Conrad, farmer. 
Leifer Fred., do 
Lintner Phillip, do 
Lohman August, do 
Lohman Fred., do 
Longpin Henry, do 
Lipkiman Fred., do 
Leifer Dederich, do 
Liddy. Timothy, do • 



Mef AN HUGH, farmer. 
McCan, Patrick, farmer. 
Mann Christian, do 



DIRECTORY. 



191 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 8 WEST.— RED BUD. 



-♦* 



Mohr J. C, barkeeper. 
Mohrs Henry, farmer. 
Mohrs Fred., farmer. 
McBricle Isaac, farmer. 
McBride J. T., do 
McBride T. J., do 
Minholhy Charles, brickmason. 



"VTAGEL C. II., brickmason. 
JL\ Nagel Earnest do 
Nearger Fred., do 

Nelson Isaac. do 

Nelson William. do 



OWEN. Levi, briekmason. 
Owen C. C, do 
Outen William, do 
Outen, do 

Offerding Daniel, hotel keeper. 
Ortgeison Gehard, shoemaker. 
Ohlwien David, farmer. 
Owen William, do 
Obst Ferdinand, carpenter. 



P 



ARlioT PETER, firmer. 



Parrot Louis, do 

Peach John, do 

Peurggroth Fred., do 

Pelzer Louis, do 

Pro w.^e William. do 
Poston G. X., M. D., 



RALLS J. & R.. farmers. 
Ralls William, farmer. 
Ralls John, do 

Rail John, do 

Rail Louis, do 

Rathut Charles, carpenter. 
Rathut William, pla-terer. 
Ronnerberger F.. farmer. 
Rinehardt Charles, shoemaker. 



R uhnkorf Conrad, laborer. 
Ruhnkorf Henry, wagonmaker. 
Ritter Henry, blacksmith. 
Ruker Fred. Sr., carpenter. 
Ruker Fred. Jr., farmer. 
Resse Fred., carpenter. 
Roscon James, farmer. 
Ronald Earnst, do 
Ronald Conrad, do 
Ronald Fred., do 
Rollpink Fred., do 
Rose Joseph, carpenter. 
Rosenmier Fred., do 
Robbins Wm. S., teamster. 
Ruppel Leonard, butcher. 
Reity Adam, clerk. 



QCHRIEBER CHARLES, Jr, 

IO merchant. 

Schrieber Charles, Sr., fanner. 

Schrieber F., Sr., do 

Schrieber F., Jr. 

Saxonmier George, saddler. 

Shatter Fred., laborer. 

Shintheln Margaret, farmer. 

Smook August, farmer. 

Snook William, do 

Shrader Conrad, do 

Slv>rt John, do 

Small David, do 

Smith Henry, do 

Smith Conrad, do 

Smith N., justice of peace. 

Smith R, J., merchant. 

Smith Laurence, hotel keeper. 

Simmons Luther, farmer. 

Simmons S. L., do 

Simmons H. Mc, do 

Sipple Christian, carpenter. 

Sippel Henry, farmer. 

Salger Earnst, do 

Salger Fred., do 

Sliger John, do 

Stillborn Fred., do 

Smith H. 0, do 

Starnn William, do 

Starnn Aueust, do 



192 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY . 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 8 WEST.— RED BVD. 



^*- 



Stoehr John, lawyer. 
Snyder Christopher, horse farrier. 
Salfrank Henry, barber. 
Seibert J. A., ambrotypist. 
Seibert H., stone cutter. 
Stineham Jacob, farmer. 
Stineham Frank, do 
Btumph Jacob, D. D. 
Sturgeon J. R., D. D. 



TAYLOR SPENCER, miller. 
Treaneiler Mathias, laborer, 
Teiler William, butcher. 
Tummel John, brickmason. 
Tumrnel frank, <i<> 



TTFFUMAN LOUISi farmer. 



VOGES II aster. 

Voges (,' .. farmer. 
Toges Conrad Jr., do 

Voaa Fred., do 



Veight William, M. D. 
Vagely S.. laborer. 



WALKER FRED., farmer. 
Wichlien A., do 

Wichlien John L., do 

Wichlein John, gunsmith. 
Weaver Daniel, farmer. 
Weaver Peter, do 
Wehrhiem Philip Sr., farmer. 
Wehrheim Philip Jr., do 
Winegertnor Charles, carpenter. 
Weber Jacob, do 

Wundt Charles. M. D. 
Wagoner Fred., wagonmakor. 
Wipkin Fred., farmer. 
Wipkin August, do 
Wilson James G., farmer. 
Wilson Gilbert, do 

Weiss Leonard, blacksmith. 
Wilson R. S., farmer. 
Weiss Phil, and Adam, ruilort 
and shoemakers. 



YEAGEK ANTONY, farmer. 
Young William, do 



A. B. AGNEW, M. D., 

im and ^ttrjj^m, 

PRAIRIE DU ROCHER, 

n.an<3.oljC>li County, 111. 




PRAIRIE DU ROCHER DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 9 WEST.— PRAIRIE DU ROCHER. 



AGNEW A. B., physician. 
Albert Antoine, farmer. 
Atcher Charles, do 



FRANK, mer- 
W., merchant 



BACHELIER 
chant. 
Brickey Frank 

miller. 

Bachelier Philibert, carpenter 
Barbeau Benjamin, farmer. 
Barbeau Andrew Jr., do 



Barbeau Henry, 


do 


Barbeau John B., 


do 


Barbeau Antoine, 


do 


Barbeau Baptiste, 


do 


Brown Matthew, 


do 


Barber Francis, 


do 


Bege Leurent, 


do 


Buyat Ambrose, 


do 


Benvenu Raynold, 


do 


Blandford Felix, 


do 


Blais Joseph, 


do ' 


Blais Thomas, 


do 


Boneau Pierre, 


do 


Brewer John Sr., 


do 


Brewer George, 


do 


Brown Albion, 


do 


Blais Godfrey, 


do 


Blandheld Albert, 


do 


Blais Narcissus, 


do 


pAVAXAU L. D. 
\J Chaudel Theo] 


farmer. 


mill, propria 


tor of Union Hoi 


el. 


17 





Chartreau Michael, farmer. 
Cheoweth Gabriel. 
Clark James, do 

Connely James, do 

Collegnor Joseph, do 

Curat Alphonse, do 

Carr Benjamin, laborer. 



DAVIS H. S., blacksmith. 
Derouse Edward, farmer, 
Deffry Maxemilion, do 
Danane Martin, do 

Danjan John, do 

Dorron Leseu, do 

Dorron Ferain, do 

Drawry Clement, do 

Drapan William. do 

Duelas Eugene, do 

Dueias Rosemond, do 



GODAIR PIERRE, farmer, 
Godair John B., do 
Godair Celerin, do 

Grevet Dan is, do 

Granmer John B., do 

Guebert C, do 



HARRIS GRAVAIS, farmer. 
Harris Thomas, do 

Hausbrough Elija do 

Harestead Thomas, do 

HayhesHosea, do 

Henry William, justice of tin 
..<l iv tary public. 
• Edmund. 



194 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 9 WEST —PRAIRIE DU ROCHER. 



JEFFRY W. M., physician. 
Johnson John, farmer. 



KERR HENRY, farmer. 
Kerr John, merchant. 
Kerr A., do 



LACHAPELLE AMEDEE, far- 
mer. 
Langlois Francis, farmer. 
Langlois Antoine, do 
Levery Joseph, 
Levery Godfrey, 
Louviere Juhn B., 
Louviere Henry, 
Louviere Ciprain, 
Louviere Baptiste, 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



Loe A. H., merchant miller. 



M 



ANNING ISADORE, farmer. 



Medeaf Edward, do 

Medeaf Charles B.. do 

Miller William, do 

Moass Solomon, do 

Mangen Prosper, do 

Mongen Francis, do 

Mudd Thomas L.. do 

Mudd Vincent, do 

Mudd Thomas, do 

Mudd James T., do 
Montgomery Thomas L., do 

McNabb Matthew, do 
McGee Augustus, saddler. 



N 



EAL JOSEPH, farmer. 



OWEN CONSTANTINE, far- 
mer. 
Owen Croswell, farmer. 



PERRAT FERDINAND, far- 
mer. 
Perrat Francis, farmer. 
Phegly Jacob, do 
PheglyJohn, do 

Panpar Pelazie, do 
Pairier Frederick, farmer. 



ROBBINS WILLIAM. 
Ray Ely A. 
Ray Antoine. 
Ray Adolphus. 
Ray Ferdinan .. 
Ray Phelix, 



SANTEAN JOHN B., farmer. 
Shea Michael, do 

Simmons Henry M., do 

Skedmore H. M., do 

Steinkop Frederick, Mason. 
Sprigg, James D., merchant. 
Sprigg John, do 

Schrider, Dr.. farmer. 



THIBEAU ISRAEL, 
Timpton Sias, 
Tuller John B. 
Thibeau Francis, 



farmer. 
do 
do 
do 



W 



ENTHER GEORGE, farmer. 



TOWNSHIP .3 S., RANGE 10 W., FR.— PRAIRIE DU ROCHER. 



-••»- 



ENGLAND ROBE] 
Elliot Joseph, fa 



ENGLAND ROBERT. 

fur mer. 



G 



ODAIR ALEXIS, farmer. 



DIRECTORY. 



195 



TOWNSHIP 5 S., RANGE 10 W., FR.— PRAIRIE DU ROCHER. 



LANGLOIS ETIENNE, C, far- 
mer. 
Louviere John N., farmer. 
Louviere Eugene, do 
Louviere Vital, do 

Louviere Benjamin, do 



s 



EARS S. S., commission mer- 
chant. 



WALDRON WILLIAM, far- 
mer. 



TOWNSHIP 7 S., RANGE 8 W., FR,— PRAIRIE DU ROCHER. 



BIENVIENU FRANCIS E., 
farmer. 
Bienyjenu Lewis, farmer. 



CASSON ANTOINE B., farmer. 
Casson Felix, do 

Charliville Charles, do 

Charliville Francois, do 



Doza William, 
Danis Antoine, 



DEROUSE JOSEPH T., farmer. 
Dobbs W. K., do 

Dobbs Jonathan, do 

Dobbs Richard, do 

Doza Alexis. do 



p ENDROU LUKE. 



>UJOL LOUIS P. 
Planase Antoine. 



THOMAS FULTON. 
Thomas Matthew. 
Thomas Plumer. 



farmer, 
do 



196 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 



M 




S. TURNER, JONES & CO., 

Have in Store a carefully selected Stock of 











Which they offer at 



Attention is called to their Stock of 

BOOTS Jk.NT> SHOES, 

Which will be found extensive, and of the best make 
and material. 



Are selected to answer the wishes of regular custo- 
mers, and can be relied upon for quality. 




CONSTANTLY KEPT IN STOEE. 

Liberty, Illinois. 



LIBERTY. 



About the year 1805, John Hickman built a house in 
front of the present location of Liberty, on land which 
has long since given place to the current of the river. 
In 1806, Mr. Mansker, father of Samuel Mansker, 
built a house on the island opposite the town, and 
opened a farm. Samuel Mansker built the first 
house within the limits of the present town — the same 
that is now occupied by Mr. Tuthill as a chair manu- 
factory. The first store was established by James 
McCormack. 

In the year 1832, John Stearns, an emigrant from 
Tennessee, purchased the land and laid off the upper 
part of town into town lots. A sprightly improvement 
followed, and the place rapidly assumed town propor- 
tions. About the year 1836, Capt. "W. B. Charles, 
James Dean, Dr. Manning, Harvey Clendenin, 
Samuel Barber, Thomas Frazier, E. G. Hall, Brew- 
ster, and some others located in the town, and gave 
it quite a start towards a high destiny. Mansker, 
Clendenin & Barber established a store and carried 
on a heavy business in buying and shipping grain. At 
this time there was probably more corn shipped from 
Liberty than from any other port in Randolph County, 

The town was incorporated in 1837, and the local 
*17 



198 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

government set in motion. The first board of town 
trustees consisted of William B. Charles, Nathaniel 
Manning, John D. Stearns, John Stearns and Jacob 
Parks. John Stearns was elected President, and 
Harvey Ciendenin, Clerk. 

The place maintained a gradual improvement until 
about the year 1842. From that period there was but 
little progress until about four years ago. In 1855, 
the enterprising citizens of the town and vicinity or- 
ganized a joint stock association, and commenced the 
erection of a large flouring mill. This was the signal 
for other improvements, and during the next two years 
a great many new houses were built. The mill was 
completed and set in operation in 1856. It is of the 
largest class of merchant mills, capable of producing 
two hundred and fifty barrels of flour per day. 

The town now contains five dry goods stores; two 
grocery stores; one chair factory; one wagon shop; 
two blacksmith shops; one boot and shoe shop; one 
cooper shop; one hotel; three physicians; one school 
house. 

Liberty is one of the largest wood markets on the 
Mississippi river. About ten thousand dollars' worth of 
wood is sold from her numerous yards annually. 

A church was organized in Liberty, about the year 
1844 by Eev. C. C. Eiggs. The congregation usually 
occupy the school house. Eev. B. II. Charles supplies 
the pulpit occasionally. 

Liberty is situated in the southeast corner of Ran- 
dolph County, upon a strip of level land, with the Mis- 
sissippi in front and a range of wild, cragged bluffs in 
the rear. The river at this point is probably narrower 
than at any other place between \" >w < Orleans and St. 
Anthony Falls, measuring in an ordii ary stage of 



DIRECTORY. 199 

water something less than four hundred yards. The 
country surrounding Liberty is somewhat broken, and 
heavily timbered. The soil on the uplands is well 
adapted to the production of wheat, of which the far- 
mers raise large quantities. 





J. P. MANN, 

Liberty, Illinois, 
JONES' CREEK POST OFFICE. 

Keeps on hand a large Stock of 





srVU 

HARDWARE, QUEEKSWARE, 

boots ^dstd shoes, 

HATS AND CAPS, 

CLOTHE, WOODEN MO WILLOW WARE, 

All of Avhich he sells low to cash or prompt time pur- 
chasers. 



LIBERTY DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— LIBERTY. 



ARMSTRONG WILLIAM, far- 
mer. 
Armstrong Samuel, farmer. 
Armstrong Robert, do 



BARBER EZEKIEL, wood mer- 
chant. 
Barber Alexander, farmer. 
Barber James, do 

Beaver Charles W., laborer. 
Brown James M., farmer. 
Bryant Thomas, farmer. 
Bryant William, teamster. 
Buar, blacksmith. 
Barnes Benjamin, wood dealer. 
Bennett R., laborer. 
Barber Joseph Dr. 
Barber Joel Dr. " 
Brown John, farmer. 
Barber Samuel, farmer. 



CARTER COLMAN, laborer. 
Clendenin E. R., carpenter. 
Clendenin J. C, merchant. 
Clendenin John II., farmer. 
Clendenin Samuel, do 
Clendenin Harvey, do 
Clendenin William H., merchant. 
Crisler John, blacksmith. 
Criley John, plasterer. 
Childcrs Harvey, farmer. 
Carter Samuel, do 

Clifford C. 
Clifford Samuel. 
Crane Joseph H. 



D 



EAN JAMES, merchant. 



EMERY WILLIAM, wagoa- 
maker. 



FLOYED GEORGE W., laborer. 
Fulford Thomas, farmer. 
Frazier Thomas, do 

Frazier Alexander, carpenter. 
Frickey August, miller. 



GENTRY WILLIAM, laborer. 
Gentry Pleasant, do 

Gentry John. 
Gentry William. 



HASKINS CHARLES R., far- 
mer. 
Harry W. G., shoemaker. 
Hamilton Archibald, farmer. 
Hooker George W., carpenter. 
Hooker Jacob, do 

Hooker William, laborer- 
Hobbs Richard, farmer. 
Henderson B. B. 
Hardy. 
Hobbs Thomas, farmer. 



"ONES SAMUEL T., merchant. 
Jones <fc Clendenin, merchant*. 



DIRECTORY. 



201 



TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— LIBERTY. 



Jones W. W., Dr. 
Jernegan William B., cooper. 
Jeffrey William M., farmer. 
Jeffrey Robert, teacher. 



K 



IRK JOHN, laborer. 



rner- 



L ESTER JOHN, farmer. 
Lakenan James M., 
chant. 
Lawder William, farmer. 
Lawder James, do 

Lively James, laborer. 
Lawson Samuel. 



MORGAN JOHN, laborer. 
Mann J. P., merchant. 
Mann C. A., Dr. 
McKenny James, clerk. 



>ARRES VINCENT, salesman. 
Purdy Edward P., miller. 



REED JAMES D., blacksmith. 
Ryan Augustus, do 

Reese Jordan, farmer. 
Ray, mate on river. 
Robbins W. S. 
Rickards Benjamin, miller. 



SCUDAMORE G., farmer. 
Simpson John, do 
Simponn James, do 

Stone J. H., do 

Stokes Elijah, do 



TOPE G. W., laborer. 
Tuthill S. P., chair maker. 
Tudor John, farmer. 
Tunis John, do 
Tudor Thomas, do 



u 



NDERHILL MARION, far- 
mer. 



VAN METER H. M. 
Vickers Montraville, farmer. 
Vickers Moses, cooper. 
Vance William, Dr. 



WALTERS GEORGE W., mer- 
chant. 
Walters A. J., merchant. 
Ward E. J., do 

Wise E. G., cooper. 
Wingate R., farmer. 
Winthraw R., laborer. 
Wilson Johnson, farmer. 
Whitehouse Joseph, farmer. 



TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 6 WEST.— LIBERTY. 



BARNFIELD T. H., salesman. 
Barnfield J. J., farmer. 



pARR WILLIAM, farmer. 



FLEETWOOD GEORGE ; W., 
farmer. 
Flin Perry, farmer. 



H1NDMAN HARVEY, farmer. 
Hindman Alexander, do 
Hindman Alexander Jr., do 



202 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 6 WEST.— LIBERTY. 



LAWSOK ISAAC, farmer. 
Law Alexander, do 



MANSKER R. B.,. farmer. 
Mansker Samuel, do 
Moore John, farmer. 
Moore Robert, do 
Moore Americus, farmer. 
Mansker William W., teacher. 



PEARSON ABSALOM, farmer. 
Pearson William, do 



WEAKLEY JOHN, farmer. 
Wilson John, do 

Williams Thomas, do 



B. N. BOND, 

PHYSICIAN, SURGEON, AND ACCOUCHER. 

IVANOVO LLI* CLONSQGS. 

Attends to all calls for his jDrofessional services. 



EVANSVILLE. 



Evansville stands upon the eastern bank of the Kas- 
kaskia river, ten miles above Kaskaskia, in township 
five, south of range eight west. At the point where the 
town is located, there is no bottom land, the hill rising 
gradually from either side of the river bank. 

A farm was made upon the locality of the town by 
Andrew White, in the year 1811. Some years after- 
wards White sold the farm to Adam Henderson, who 
sometime afterwards sold it to Levi North. Mr. 
North established a ferry across the river in 1826, and 
"North's Ferry" soon became widely known, and 
kept the name until the growth of the town forbid the 
appellation. North sold out to Eli Chappell, and 
Ohappell sold to Cadwell Evans, from whom the 
town takes its name, with the common affix of Ameri- 
can villages attached. 

Evans laid off the land into town lots in the year 
1834, and commenced selling town property, at which 
time the town consisted of Mr. Evans' dwelling house, 
a shop for repairing wagons, stocking and repairing 
plows, &c, and the ferry. In 1837 Mr. Evans ei'ected 
a horse mill. The same year Paul Craddock erected 
a cooper shop. The following year Edmund Eccles 
and J » >seph Bratney established a tanyard. About the 
same time Mr. Evans erected and opened a hotel. A 
saddlery shop was established the next year by Wil- 



204 RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 

liam McXeal. The next year, 1840, William and 
McKee O'Melvany brought to the town a stock of 
dry goods and commenced merchandizing. At this 
time the nourishing aspect of affairs induced the opin- 
ion that Evansville must become a place of some busi- 
ness importance, but under the heavy financial embar- 
rassment which almost crushed out the energies of 
western prosperity about this time, there was no more 
improvement until the year 1847, when a new impetus 
was given the town by Volien Weirham, who erected 
a store house and commenced selling goods. Other 
acquisitions were made to the town as time passed 
along. In 1854, Jonathan Chetsnutwood, from Ohio, 
came to the place and established a dry goods store. 
Soon afterwards came David Hartzell, the now busi- 
ness partner of Ohestnutwood. The same year Evans 
& Weirham erected and put in operation a steam flour- 
ing mill. In 1857 Wunderlick erected a brewery, in 
which is brewed the celebrated "Evansville Beer." 

The growth of the place thus far has depended upon 
the improvement of the country around it, — but the 
successful navigation of the Kaskaskia river during the 
past season, is giving advantages to the place which 
will create much improvement. In addition to what 
has been mentioned the town contains two wagon 
manufactories; two blacksmith shops, \ five cooper and 
one saddlery shop ; two hotels; two physicians; sev- 
eral carpenters and masons; one tailor; a good school 
house in which a permanent school is kept by James 
A. J. Martin. Ferry kept by James Walsh. 

The Methodist denomination have two church organ- 
s— English and German — both organized in 1*58. 
i s lor preaches for the former. Baah for the latter, 
C building a I >f worship. 



EVANSVILLE DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSnTP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 8 WEST.— EVANSVILLE. 



A NDERSON JAMES P. 



BERTHAL MICHAEL, farmer. 
Bart John, farmer. 
Blai3 E., do 

Braise Henry, do 
Braise Frederick, farmer. 
Bruzer Lewis, do 

Brown John, do 

Brown George T., do 
Brewer Felix. do 

Brewer Thomas, do 
Butler Thomas, do 

Bond B. N., physician. 



ECCLES EDMUND, grocer. 
Evans William, farmer. 



FAHARTY MANNS, farmer. 
Flawley Michael, do 
Flam Gasper, do 



GUEBLE JOHN, farmer. 
Gi herding Debrich, farmer. 
Gross Nicholas. do 



CAMPBELL ARCHIBALD, far- 
mer. 
Carroll Martin, farmer. 
ClaseJohnW., do 
Crorgon James, do 
Chestnut wo-, d J., merchant. 



DEGNER FREDERICK, far- 
mer. 
Derouse Phillip, farmer. 
Divers Andrew, do 
Dawling Michael, do 
Douglas G. W., do 
Douglas John A., farmer and jus- 
tice of the Peace. 

18 



HASEMIRRER LATTIS, far- 
mer. 
Hannaman Henry, farmer. 
Hannibutt Charles, do 
Hannibutt Frederick Jr., farmer. 
Hermiss Phillip. do 

Hindmann Frederick, do 

Hainan Rudd, do 

Hopka Henry, do 

Horrel Benedict, do 

Horrel Benedict J^ do- 

Horrel Cornelius, do 

Horrel John M., do 

Horrel Francis E., do 

Horrel Thomas L., do 

Hull James, do 

Harstead John, do 

Hurtzell David, merchant. 



2l)6 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 8 WEST.— EVANSVILLE. 



RY C, farmer. 



KERSTON HENRY, farmer. 
Kn<jtt Killery, do 

Kucker Frederick II., do 
Kucker William, do 



M 



ARTIN JAMES A.J. ,lc 
Marlin Fleetwood, farn 



Mitchell Robert, do 

Mudd llfni y, do 

Mudd Francis, do 

Mudd Charles, do 

Mudd John, do 

Murphy Mich do 

McCraw John, do 

M lannJam do 

McDerinot James, do 







HARRA JAMES. 
Ohmes Charles. 



PAULTER JOSEPH Br. 
Paulter Ju.sepU Jr. 
Paulter Paul, 



RABE B 
rard, do 

UO 



IMPSON JOHN C, farmer. 



i II. D., 
Simpson Thorn 

son James L>.. 
Simpson Thomas L., 

Lj man. 
Skeudmore A. G., 
Stiffens Otto, 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



T 



miLLMAN FREDERICK. 
Thoj John M. 



V 



INSAN JOHN. 



WALI 
Walsh Nicholas: 
: -i Dedrich. 
rheim Joiin. 

t VV iialen Jonathan. 



Y 



OUNG ANDREW. 
Yum Peter. 



DIRECTOR!". 



20T 




208 RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 



THOMISON & HARMON, 

STEELESVILLE, ILL. 

DEALERS IN 




BOOTS £ND SHOES, 

HATS AND CAPS, GROCERIES, 

HA.RBWAB6 mO> eWTLiRV, 

And all other articles necessary to constitute a complete assortment 
of such Goods as the country demands. 

Our business is transacted on the mutual principle, and we invito 
our friends and the public generally to bring us every article of 
merchantable produce, and exchange it for Goods. Give us a call 
when you visit Steclesville. 

CHEAP^^ASH STORE. 

J. M. MALONE & BRO , 

Having established themselves in the 

DRY-GOODS & GROCERY BUSINESS. 

Would respectfully solicit a share of the patronage around Stc-elos- 
ville. In our Store will at all times be found a complete variety of 

1&Y~&9M8» KAYS, @A»S, 

BOOTS, SHOES, 

SUGAR, MOLASSES, COFFEE, I'M. 
PSPPEH, SPICE, *C, *C. 

Our Stock is open for inspection, and everybody is invited U 
eall and see us. 



STEELESVILLE. 



-•*- 



Steelesville, formerly named and yet called G-eorge- 
tOAvn, is situated towards the eastern boundary of the 
county, fifteen miles from Chester, on the road leading to 
Pmckneyville. The old Indian trail and road leading 
from Shawneetown to Kaskaskia passed over the ground 
on which the town is made, and for many years before 
there was any prospect of a town, it was the principal 
thoroughfare of travel for the Southern District of 
Illinois. Emigrants, from beyond the Ohio, crossed the 
river at Shawneetown. and came this route to Kas- 
kaskia. 

George Steele, the original proprietor of Stccles- 
ville > located upon the land where the town stands, in 
1810, and made a small farm. The most important 
event in the early history of this place was the erection 
of a Fort or " Block House," in the year 1812, in which 
the neighboring settlers took refuge from the Kickapoo 
Indians, whose hostilities towards the Americans had 
been excited by the British. During one whole season 
the people lived in this Fort, and never left it without 
their guns and arms of defense. 

The foundation of the town was laid in 1825, by the 
erection of a tread-mill by Mr. Steele. The mill 

machinery was driven by the weight of oxen treading 

*1H *' 



210 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

upon an inclined wheel, which created sufficient powor 
to drive and run the burrs. The mill created the neces- 
sity for a store. This necessity was supplied two years 
afterwards by Col. Gabriel Jones, who opened the first 
stock oi goods ever brought to Georgetown. In tho 
same year — 1827 — a post office was established, and Col. 
Jones appointed Postmaster. The post office was 
named " Steele's Mills," and it still retains the original 
name, though the town was first called Georgetown, 
and afterwards, by Act of the Legislature, changed to 
Steclesvillc. 

With a mill, a store, a post office, a hotel, and a black- 
smith shop, as a basis to start upon, the enterprising 
proprietor proceeded in 1832, to have his land surveyed 
into town lots, which he offered for sale at public auc- 
tion. Among the purchasers at this first sale of lots, 
were Capt. Rogers, Col. Jones, Dr Jones, Roberi 
Jones, and Tanner Briggs. From this time the town 
commenced growing, and its progress has been slow 
and gradual — additions being made just as fast as tho 
advancing country around increased the demands of 
trade. 

In 1838-9, Mr. Steele erected a brick residence, the 
first brick building in the place, which was an orna- 
ment to the town. It is now owned and occupied by 
Harry Jenkins as a hotel. 

In the year 1842, the old mill becoming worn and 
unsteady from the dilapidation of age, Mr. Steele 
built another one, near where the first one stood, upon 
the same plan, but much larger. It did excellent ser- 
vice for several years, but its din and noise are heard 
no more — only the wreck of it remaining. 

The first church of Georgetown was organized in 
1834, by Rev. Eli Short. The congregation continued 



DIRECTORY. 211 

to worship regularly for some years, but finally tha 
members becoming scattered, the organization was 
abandoned. Another church was organized in 1838, by 
Rev. J. B. Alcott, a Baptist minister, and this may bo 
called the first Baptist church of Steelesville. A school 
house, standing a little to the eastward of town, was 
used for church purposes by the congregation until 
1818, when a now building was erected in the western 
part of town. 

In 1851, this congregation divided upon some ques- 
tion of difference, and the dissenting portion erected a 
new church building, and have become a distinct organ- 
isation. Rev. II. S. Gordon supplies the pulpit of tho 
new church, and Rev. H. S. Deppe that of the old ono. 

The Methodists have an organization, (the date of 
whose commencement has been lost,) and preaching 
occasion ally by Rev. Mr. Jay. 

The Presbyterian Church was organized about eight 
months ago, by Rev. B. H. Charles, of Chester. The 
congregation occupies the old Baptist Church, and Rev. 
A. A. Morrison fills the pulpit. 

Steelesville has one school house, in which a school is 
kept regularly. It is a good, substantial frame build- 
ing, and stands a little to the northward of town. A 
new flouring mill has just been put in operation, with a 
capacity of grinding one hundred and fifty barrels of 
flour per day. They have a good steam saw mill ; four 
dry goods stores ; one wagon shop j two cabinet shops ; 
one boot and shoe shop; one cooper shop; one black- 
smith shop; one tailor shop; one hotel, and two physi- 
cians. 



STEELESVILLE DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— STEELESVILLE. 



-«•»- 



A 



DAMS TILFORD. 
Arnold Elias, farmer; 



BADGLEY DAVID S., farmer. 
Berner John H., miller. 
"Berner Joseph W., do 
Berner Frederick, farmer. 
Barrand Robert. 
Benson Christopher, farmer. 
Beggeman Henry Sr., do 
Beggeman Henry Jr., do 
Beggeman August, do 

Black George F., physician. 
Blair James H., farmer. 
Blair Robert H., do 
Bowerman Michael, farmer. 
Brown Joseph, do 

Brown David, do 

Brown Isaac B., merchant. 
Brown Preston, do 

Brown William H., farmer. 
Brown Samuel N., blacksmith. 
Brown James T., farmer. 
Brown Alfred A., do 
Brown William, do 
Brown Michael, do 
Blashear William W., farmer. 
Blackclriby Thomas, do 
Busher Henry, do 



C1AMPBELL WILLIAM E., far- 
> mor. 
Castellow Alfred, farmer. 
Castellow John T., blacksmith. 
Cross Francis, farmer. 



DEPPE H. S. Rev., farmer. 
Dennis Charles J., do 
Dennis James, do 

Deppe Augustus, do 

Dogget Rev., fanner and teacher. 
Duncan Jacob, do 



EBERS FREDERICK, farmer. 
Edwards Thomas B., do 



FORSEE NAPOLEON, farmer. 
Forsee Richard, do 



GLAPFORD REUBEN, farmer. 
Gordon George, do 

Gordon H. S., Rev., do 

Green Carter, do 

Guymon Thomas, do 



I 



NGLAES B. F., carpenter. 



JERNIGAN W. R., farmer and 
brick maker. 
Jenkins R. H., hotel keeper. 



KAMPEN CHARLES, fanner. 
Korn Abraham, do 



DIRECTORY. 



213 



TOWNSHIP 6 60UTH, RANGE 5 WEST.-STEELESVILLB. 



Korn Elijah. farmer, 

Korn Jacob. do 

Korn John, do 

Kane James, do 

Kendall Edward, wagon maker. 



LEHNHOFF LEWIS, farmer. 
Lehnburg Christopher, far- 
mer. 

Lively Lewis, farmer. 

Lively Shadrick, farmer. 

Liekess Robert, merchant. 

Lickess John, farmer. 

Lofton Eli, fanner and school 
commissioner. 

Luhfsinger Henry, shoemaker. 



M ALONE JOHN B., farmer. 
Malone James M., merchant. 
Malone J. A., do 

Mathews John, Rev. 
Mathis Leonard, farmer. 
Mathis John, do 

Marion J. 

Mat-tin William C. farmer. 
Mossburg Frederick, do 
Misselhorn William, do 
Minter Jacob, do 

Morgan J. F., do 

Morgan G, S., physician. 
Morris James, cabinet maker. 
Morrison John, farmer. 
Morrison Robert, do 
Monteith John A., farn 
Myerhoff Henry, do 



PAHLMAN HENRY, carpen- 
ter. 
Parker Senaca, merchant miller. 
Perily Henry, farmer. 



Robison Daniel, farmer. 
Rossindall Frederick, farmer. 
Ruhrede Frederick, do 

Russell Leonard, do 

Ruizede Henry. do 

Rihnheart August, cooper. 



SHAFER DANIEL U., brick- 
maker. 

Short John T.. farmer. 

Short John E., do 

Short Thomas E., farmer. 

Short Richard J., do 

Smith Lewis M., do 

Sowerby A. G., carpenter and 
cabinet maker. 

Soaper Robert, farmer. 

Stevens William H., farmer, 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
W., cooper. 



Stilhvaugh Jacob, 
Still waugh Albert, 
Stoker James M., 
Steele Albert, 
Steele Rilen, 
Steele Thomas, 
Steele James, 
Steele John Sr., 
Steele James C, 
Steele Har 
Steele Jasper, 
Steele Elvis, 
Steele Thomas, 
Steele M. E., 
Steele Carroll, 
Schewsberry George 
Staley Jacob, farmer. 



R 



OBISON WILLIAM, farmer. 
Robison Cyrus, cooper. 



mATUM WILLIAM B., farmer. 
1 Tate William. do 

Thomson George, merchant. 
Thomas John W., farmer. 



TTHLES JAMES H., farmer. 



214 



RANDOLl 11 COUNTY 



TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH. RANGE 5 WEST.— 6TEELESVILLE. 



•MES. fi 



WW farmer 
Whitford S. I 



WildeD V... 



farmer. 



YOUNG EPHRA1M J., black- 
smith. . 



•. Jill' r, S., RANGE 6 .V MENT. 



ARNOLDELIAS, farmer, 
i, do 
Adair W 

teacl 
Albei t J 



T>E 

J3 m 


A igu 


BairdA. P., 


do 


Ban; i B. 


do 


Bea'. J., 


do 


Bean 


do 


in, 


do 


Beau 


do 


Bosv >thy, 


do 


Bzckiel, 


do 



far- 



. at r li. Dry faj mer- 

rd William, do 

rd John A., do 
Ditty Am do 

D< unsing F I . fanner. 

Deunsing F. Jr., do 

Dresemyer ID in y, do 

Del any A.. do 

Delany J< 1 n A. do 

Dunsinc F. M. do 



Earmer. 
do 
do 
Exuni William- do 

brd, i 

do 
Ev F~, do 



C ED WARD, farmer. 

ii John, do 

do 
Caud ■ on, do 

Cau.i" ■ Richard, do 

/id, do 

1 teacher. 

C er John, do 

Coin 
( 1 crick, do 



F 

, A. 



LOW FREDERICK, far- 



U ■ 
Flanagan Michael, farmer. 



tn, 



do 

■ 

do 



■ 



D K , 



ETMORE FREDERICK, far- 



p ANT JOHN H. farmer. 
\.T Gramcl8 Henry, do 



iUR*.ci\mv. 



215 



TOWNSHIP G S., RANGE 6 W.—B i-VTTLEMENT. 



Glenn Ani >a H 
Gant Thom is 



do 



HACKMASTER HENRY,, far- 
mer. 
Hanna James II., farmer. 
Harmon Juan C, do 
Harm in Joan Jr., do 
Harmon William, do 
I i ;n Phillip, do 
Harmon ( ■■■ orge Sr. do 
Harmon George Jr. d> 
Harmon Abraham Sr., farmer. 
Harmon Abraham Jr., do 
Harmon Michael, 
Harmon J i i is Jr., 
Harmon J icob, 

T.. 



Harm >n Ge »rg 

Harris John, 

Harris Samuel, 

II trris Eli, 

Hartman John II, 

Hath ■ -n J 

i . 

I ties, 

Heard W liam. 

Hes 

H^i n, 

." 
! 

. 
I 

Heitm m D ' rick, 



ao 
do 
• i 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 

do 
do 
do 

do 



JAY C F.. Rev., farmer. 
it J Petei 



Jorgeus Detriek, 



do 
do 



KARSTENS FREDERICK. 
Karstens Lewis. 
Keller John P., carpenter. 
Knope Frederick, farmer. 
Knope George. do 



i Knope Henry, farmer. 
j Kern Phillip, do 

I Kakle Henrj farm sr and black- 
s nith. 



LOHRDING HENRY, farmer. 
Lively Reuben, do 

Law Job, do 

Lawn ace Charles, do 

Lawr ph, school teacher, 

in, farmer. 
Isaac, merchant. 
w ill H., farmer. 
I ward, cooper. 
Li , ; ] a. farmer. 



MAXWELL JAMES, farmer 
Maxwell William, do 
M , cooper. 
Marl in Thomas, farmer. 
M trim William Jr., farmer, 
me William D., farmer 

111:)- 

V. J., farmer. 

ivid, do 
• Liam do 

I. j r. 

Mille do 

Moore Levi, do 

M >ore William, do 

oes H., do 

Mo >re Joseph S., do 

Morrow James Jr., do 

Meyers Lewis, do 

Meyers Henry, do 

Meyers George, do 

Meyers John H., do 

Meyers John, do 

Meyers Valentine, do 

McCan James B., do 
McDonald Marshall, farmer. 
McDonald W. W., do 

Mc Donald John T., do 
McFarlin Andrew, do 

McKee Samuel, do 



and 



215 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP C B., RANGE 6 W.— HARMON SETTLEMENT. 



McLaughlin Robert, 
MoMannis William, 

McMannis Joseph, 
MeNulty Joseph M., 
McNabney James, 
McNabney Robert, 



NEFF GEORGE, fanner. 
Neemeyer August, farmer. 



/^LIVER ADAr, fai 



P ECK ET W ILL I AM, farm er. 



REIMER PETER, farmer. 
Rinkle Hem , do 
Rotrock D. S., do 

Runner Jergins, do 

Ray M. R., do 



SIMMONS DAVID M., farmer. 
Shack Peter, do 

Bhernback Henry, do 

Bonnenberg William, do 



farmer. 


Sternback Lewis, 


farmer 


do 


Sternback Henry, 


do 


do 


Sternback Frederick, 


do 


do 


Sternback William, 


do 


do 


Snaker Henry, 


do 


do 


Snider William, 


do 



TAGGART JOHN, Sr., farmer. 
Taggart John, Jr., do 
Taggart John L., farmer. 
Taggart David, do 

Taggart Amos, Sr., do 
Taggart Amos, Jr., do 
Thils Frederick, blacksmith. 
Teitze Frederick, farmer. 



V IN YARD WILLIAM, toll 
gate keeper. 



WELSHANS LEWIS, farmer. 
Westerman Henry, do 
Were Charles, farmer. 
Wilson J . do 

Wilson .1' .. '■■'. . do 
Wilson Alex; i • i M , farmer. 
Were John, farm* 
Were Fred srick, farmer. 
Weiding Henry, do 
Wheitbush Henry, farmer. 
Wilson John. 



RANDOLPH. 



-•♦»- 



About the year 1842, Mr. Capman, late of Eandolph 
County, laid off and attempted to fan the breath of life 
into a place on the old Sparta road, seven miles from 
Chester. But the sequel shows the progress was slow. 
In 1855 there was nothing to be seen of the town ex- 
cept the small grocery establishment of John Wood, 
and a few farm houses in the vicinity. The Germans, 
however, in the meantime, had settled the surrounding 
country, which they were cultivating with a great deal 
of industry and prudence. In 1856, Mr. Isaac Lehn- 
herr went to Eandolph and erected a building in which 
he placed a stock of goods, and at once commenced 
doing a brisk business. A post office was established 
the ensuing winter, which was called Bremen. 

Mr. Buckman has since opened a store, and several 
workshops are in operation in the vicinity. 

About the year 1840, the Lutheran Germans built a 
church near Eandolph, where regular service has been 
held ever since. This church was organized by Eev. 
Mr. Dunsing, who still continues to preach for the con- 
gregation. Another Lutheran church was organized 
in 1849, by Eev. M. Eirich, of Chester. There are now 
about sixty families belonging to the congregation of 
this church. Eev. Mr. Tegtmeyer is the minister. 
19 



COULTERVILLE. 



Coultervillo is situated in Grand Cote Prairie, some 
eight miles northeast of Sparta. The beautiful region 
which the town now occupies was in a state of nature, 
and afforded pasturage for the wild deer of the prairie 
until the year of 1822, when James Coulter, John and 
Alexander McKelvey, James Dickey, Samuel Boyd 
and James Stroiian came and located in the immediate 
vicinity. 

Under the management of these industrious and en- 
terprising farmers, Grand Cote Prairie began a rapid 
change from a forest of waving prairie grass to a 
prosperous rural -settlement. These improvements con- 
tinued until nearly the whole of this fertile region has 
been subdued and made to teem with the productions 
of civilization. 

In 1850, James Coulter had a portion of his land 
surveyed into town lots, which he offered for sale. 
The beautiful locality of the proposed town, and the 
fertility of the surrounding country soon attracted at- 
tention. Two years afterwards, the place commenced 
improving. In 1852-3, two churches were erected, and 
Henry Taylor commenced the -mercantile business by 
opening a dry goods store. 

The place contains at the present time, two churches ; 



DIRECTORY. 219 

two stores; one wagon shop; three blacksmith shops; 
one merchant mill ; one saw mill; one shoe shop; one 
drugstore; three carpenter shops ; one tin shop; one 
saddlery; two hotels ; one brick yard ; one brick school 
house, and two physicians. 

It is a remarkably healthy place. During the last 
five years but one death has occurred within a mile 
and a half of the place. 



COULTERVILLE DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— COULTERVILLE. 



-•♦^ 



ADDISON WILLIAM, capi- 
talist. 
Anderson John, Sr., farmer. 
Anderson John, Jr., do 
Atkin John, do 

Anderson James W., do 
Alston Andrew, do 

Alexander William R. 
Alexander W. S., farmer. 



BAIRD ALEXANDER, farmer. 
Becket Garvin, farmer. 
Beatte Jacob B., 
Beatte R. S., 
Boyd Samuel L., 
Brown Robert, Sr., 
Burns John S., 
Burns Stewart, 
Burns Archibald, 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



CATHCART JOSEPH. 
Cathcart Robert, 
Campbell D. ft, teacher. 
Carmichal John, farmer. 
Campbell Alexander, do 
Coulter John W., do 

Coulter James, Sr., do 
Coulter James, Jr., do 
Craig William, do 

Craig James, do 

Crawford Henry, do 

Crawford William B., do 
Crawford James, do 

Crawford Benj. C., do 
Crawford Bryce, do 



farmer. 
do 



Curtis William H., farmer. 
Curtis S. G., do 

Cunningham Wm., do 
Cuthbertson Robert, do 



DICKEY J. L., merchant. 
"Dickey W. J., farmer. 
Dickey Alexander, do 
Dickey John A., do 

Jamison Samuel W., merchant. 
Dickson J. J., farmer. 
Duckworth James, farmer. 
Dunlap Robert, do 



EAST JAMES, farmer. 
EasdaleHugh, do 
Edmiston William, Sr., farmer. 

Edmiston William, Jr., do 

Edmiston A. G., do 

Edmiston Rufus, do 

Edmiston James A., do 

Elliotte R. B., do 



F 



INLY JOHN, farmer. 
Foster David A., do 



GAULT R. H., farmer: 
Gault James C, do 
Garver Daniel, do 

Garvin George, do 

Goring Peter, do 

Gordon Nathaniel, do 



DIRECTORY. 



221 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— COULTERVILLE. 



HAWLEY SAMUEL, farmer. 
Hays Isaac H., " 

Hair John B., farmer. 
Herrick John, do 
Hood James, do 
Hood William, do 
Hughes John, shoemaker. 



JAMISON JOSEPH, farmer. 
James Robert, do 



KEY r S ROBERT, farmer. 
Kirkpatrick John S., farmer. 
Kerr John, farmer. 
Kean Christopher, farmer. 
Kennedy Hugh, do 
King Alexander, do 



LEMMON ISAIAH S., farmer. 
Little Samuel, farmer. 
Lynn Charles E., do 



MATTHEWS R., farmer. 

Matthews W. J., do 

Miller John G., do 

Moore Thos. C, do 

Moore William B., do 

Moore Alexander, Sr., io 

Moore Alexander, Jr do 

Morton Andrew. do 

Muir Robert. do 

Murphy John, do 

Murphy T. G.. do 

Munford David, do 

Munford William do 

McDill James, do 

McDill Thomas, do 

McDill John, do 

McMillan Matthew, do 

McMillan S. W., do 

McMillan Randell, do 

McMurrav James, do 

*19" 



Mclntyre Daniel, farmer. 
McLaughlin Johu, do 
McKelvey James W., do 
McKelvey Charles, do 
McKelvey A., do 

McKelvey Robt. B., do 
McKelvey T. E., do 

McKelvey J. C, do 

McKelvey Sam'l W., do 
McRill 0. G., do 

McNeill John, blacksmith. 



PINKERTON JOHN, farmer. 
Pinkerton Luther, do 
Pinkerton Benjamin, student. 
Pinkerton James H. 



ROBERTSON ROBERT, farmer. 
Robertson William, do 
Rice H. H., Dr. 
Robison John, farmer. 
Russell Alexander, farmer. 



SELFRIDGE JOHN, farmer. 
Sinclair John, farmer. 
Sloan John J., blacksmith. 
Smith Robert, farmer. 
Smith A., do 

Smith Moore, do 
Sproule James, wagonmaker. 
Strahan Blair, farmer. 
Stephenson Robert, farmer. 



mAYLOR HENRY, farmer. 
J_ Taylor W. B., blacksmith. 
Thompson J. S., merchant. 
Thompson W. L., farmer. 
Thompson A. M., do 
Thompson John M., cooper. 



222 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— COULTERVILLK. 



WATTERS CHARLES, farmer. 
Whitaker W. B., wagon- 
maker. 
White William, farmer. 
Wilson James, Sr., do 
Wilson Peter C, do 
Wilson David, do 
Wisely James M., uo 



Woodside Samuel, Sr., farmer. 

Woodside Samuel, Jr., do 

Woodside James, do 

Woodside John J., do 

Wright John, do 

Wyley James, do 

Wyley John, do 



FLORENCE. 



This place is situated in Township 6 South, of Eange 
7 West, some three miles northeast of Kaskaskia, and 
about two miles from the Kaskaskia river. It has an 
elevated situation, and surrounded by springs of pure 
water. The region in which this village is situated has 
many natural advantages. It has a heavy growth of 
excellent timber, and a fertile soil, adapted to the culti- 
vation of all the vegetables, grains, grasses and fruits 
peculiar to Southern Illinois. The Kaskaskia river 
which is now navigated by small steamers during the 
greater portion of the year, serves as a highway for the 
transportation of its surplus produce. 

In 1852, George Ellis purchased a portion of the 
old Hunt farm, erected a house and opened a store. A 
post office was also established, and Mr. Ellis appointed 
Postmaster. During the same year, a Union Meeting 
House was erected, and a school house having been 
previously built, the place began to assume the air of 
a village. Mr. Ellis now had his land surveyed into 
town lots, and the place was called " Ellis Grove." 

In 1855 the Baptists erected a large meeting house. 
This church is well attended, and the society is in a 
flourishing condition. Eev. "W". E. McClure is the 
present pastor. 



224 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



Mr. Ellis' Store being destroyed by fire, in 1857, he 
sold his property in the place and removed to Urbana. 
Mr. William Crawford now removed to the place and 
took charge of the post office, and opened a small stock 
of goods. A shoe shop was soon after established, a 
cooper shop has since been built, and Messrs. Buckman 
& Peters are erecting a store house in which they in- 
tend to open a dry goods store during the coming fall. 
In all probability a brisk trade will be conducted in 
Florence at no distant day. 



TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH, RANGE S WEST.— FLORENCE. 



A NDREWS CHARLES, farmer. 



BROWN PETER, farmer. 
Besson Joseph, do 
Bansen Clark, do 

Brewer John W., do 

Burkhardt John, cooper. 
Brown Pias, farmer. 
Boyle Wni., do 



CECIL E. S., farmer. 
Cecil Piers R. D., farmer. 
Chenoux Mitchell, (Che-nu) far- 
mer. 
Chenoux Joseph, farmer. 



D 



AVIS JOHN, f^rm^r. 
Deninger George, farmer. 



Derouse Charles, do 

Deroi! ; C, do 

Derou R., do 

Derouse Joseph J., do 

Derouse Francis J., do 



FISHER JAMES G., farmer. 
Fisher Archibald, wagon- 
maker. 
Fisher Henry, farmer. 



GRADIE AMOS. 
Glain Elizabeth. 
Gentry Jas. C, wagonmaker. 
Gerner Andrew, farmer aud 
cooper. 



HAMILTON BRIDGET W., 
farmer. 
Heckmann F. Gabriel, carpenter. 
Heckmann Phillip, farmer. 
Heckinari Matthew, do 
Hargus J i. H., do 

Hargus Hamilton, do 



"ONES ARMESTEAD, farmer. 
James Griffith, do 



DIRECTORY. 



225 



TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH, RANGE 8 WEST.— FLORENCE. 



K 

M 



ALER GEORGE, farmer. 



UDD FELIX, farmer. 
McGuire William, farmer. 



OPPERMAN GRISPARD, far- 
mer. 



PAVARD ETIENNE. 
Penney Joseph, farmer. 
Phigley William, do 



ROBERTS S. V., farmer. 
Roots George. 



s 



NIDER PHILLIP, fawner. 



THOMSON L. R,, farmer. 
Tilman Charles, do 



w 



ILL JOSEPH, farmer. 
Will Daniel, do 



LAFAYETTE: 



-«*»»» 



Is situated on the left bank of the Kaskaskia river, 
about ten miles above Evansville. It was laid off at quite 
an early day, although there was not much business 
done there in consequence of its isolation, until a recent 
day, when the successful navigation of the stream on 
which it stands, linking it in the chain of communica- 
tion with other places, rendered it an important ship- 
ping point. 

Large qualities of grain are shipped from this place 
and conveyed to the Mississippi river, there to be trans- 
ported to different markets ; and a large share of the 
flour manufactured at Eed Bud is shipped from this 
point. 

Also a considerable is done here in the lumber busi- 
ness, and something in the dry goods line ; a store of 
this description and a saw mill being in operation. 



PRESTON. 



James Patterson settled upon the town site of Pres- 
ton in 1804, and opened a farm. In 1816, Washington 
Sterrit bought the farm, and lived upon it until 1820, 



DIRECTORY. 227 

when he sold it to John Eankin, who shortly after- 
wards sold to James Pollock. Mr. Pollock estab- 
lished a tan yard in 1823, and for several years carried 
on an extensive business in that line. Samuel B. 
Stranky opened a store in 1833. Two years after- 
wards, Pollock & Bratney opened a store — the second 
one in the place. In 1836, James Pollock laid off his 
land into town lots, from which the town may date its 
existence. 

It has always been an unobtrusive, quiet town, fur- 
nishing such accommodations as the surrounding coun- 
try demanded. It has usually consisted of a church, 
store, post office, blacksmith shop, hotel, and a physi- 
cian. 

Its history consists chiefly in the church. Rev. S. 
Brown, of Kentucky, visited the Irish Settlement about 
the year 1810, and organized the congregation. Some 
time afterwards, Rev. S. Crothers visited the congrega- 
tion and preached a short time. But the church could 
claim no more than a nominal existence until the year 
1818, when Rev. Samuel Wylie was regularly installed 
pastor of the church. When his services were secured 
a church building was erected, probably the first Prot- 
estant church in Illinois. It was built of logs, in the 
usual style of all houses in those days. The house was 
erected and finished for use in two days. Rev. Samuel 
Wylie was succeeded in the ministerial charge of this 
congregation by Rev. Alexander Porter, he by Rev. 
S. P. McG-baw. In 1826 Rev John Reynolds took 
charge of the congregation, and continued in that station 
until 1829. In 1831 Rev. S. C. Baldridge succeeded 
to the charge, and remained five years. He was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. James McAuley, in 1840, the congrega- 
tion having been without a pastor during an interval 



228 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



of four years. The large church edifice was erected in 
1842. Eev. M. M. Brown became pastor of the church 
iri 1849, and remained until 1854. The year following 
Eev. James W. Glenn took charge of the congregation, 
and he is yet the pastor. 

This is the mother of Associate Eeformed Churches 
in Illinois. 

Union Church, located three miles south of Sparta, 
was a branch of the Preston Church. Eev. John Eey- 
nolds and Alexander Porter, from 1826, occasion- 
ally preached in a school house in the neighborhood. 
Eev. S. C. Baldridge was chosen pastor in 1830, and 
organized the church. The year after, the brick church 
now standing, was erected. Arthur Parks, Maxwell 
McCormack, and William McKee, were the first 
Ruling Elders. In later years this church has been sup- 
plied with preaching by the minister of the Sparta 
church. 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST.— PRESTON. 



ANDERSON 
mer. 
Ahuhizor John, farmer 
Alexander John, do 



JAMES w, far- | pARR ABNER, farmer. 

\J Campbell James C, farmer. 
Campbell James, do 

Campbell John C., do 

Canck James B., do 

Cochran M. E., do 

Crozier A. IT., do 



BARNETT CORYDON. farmer. 
Beatte Robert T., do 

Berthall Daniel, do 

Been James A., surveyor. 
Been E. M., farmer. 
Beatte Charles,, farmer. 
Blum John, do 

Bratney J. B., merchant and jus- 
tice of the peace. 
Bratney R. N.. farmer. 
Bratney J. C. teacher. 



DASHNER PETER, farmer. 
Detinhifer Henry, do 
Douglas John, do 

Douglas S. B., do 



F 



AY ETT FRANCIS, farmer 



DIRECTORY. 



229 



JOHN B. BRATNEY 
Would respectfully call attention to his well assorted 

Stock of 







Jfil 







Which he proposes to sell on terms that will induce 
the people of 

WMMEW&E ABB WI11HIWS 1 

To purchase of him. In his Store will be found an 
assortment of 




Suited especially to the wants of his customers. All 
kinds of 



P2 (T& tf® %¥ '55} S?^ 3 



9 



SUGAR, COFFEE, MOLASSES, TEA, 

MACKEREL, 

RICE, PEPPER, SPICES, 

TOBACCO, &C„ 

Constantly on hand. Every article usually wanted in 
the community, will be found in his Store. 

All kinds of Merchantable Produce wanted in ex- 
change for goods. 

Preston, ill. 

20 



230 



It AN DOLPH COU N T Y 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST.— PRESTON. 



GREER HEMP A., farmer. 
Glenn James W., Rev. 
Glasgow John, farmer. 
Greer Jefferson, do 
Gray William, do 
James Gray, do 

Gucher Frederick, farmer, 
Glessner Lawrence, do 



H 



ACKET GEORGE W., farmer. 



Haynes William L.. do 

Hommil Jacob, do 

Hommil Nicholas, do 

Henderson M. M., do 

Hinchbaek Godfrey, do 

Hill Samuel, do 

Hogg Archibald. do 

Haly William. do 



OUNS ROBERT. 



KARR RICHARD, farmer. 
Kemper Christian, do 
Kelly James, do 

Kinsler Jacob. do 

Kook Phillip. do 



OUGHART JOHN, farmer. 

i Long Henry. do 



MANN JAMES, farmer. 
Mann Robert C, farmer. 
Mann W. M., do 

Mann C. P., do 

Mann L. A., do 

Mann R. II.. do 

Mann William 0.. blacksmith. 
Mann R. C, farmer. 
MillerS. B, do 



I Milftsr Josiah, farmer. 

Morrow James F.. farmer. 
McAuly D. T., Rev., do 
McCormack George, do 



McCormack A. A., 
McCormack James 
McCoard William, 
McCarty John H., 
McDonald Thomas, 



do 

C, farmer, 
do 
do 
do 



VTIPONG FRANCIS, ft-. • 







HEULY MARTIN, farmer. 



POLLOCK T. C. farmer. 
Pollock James, farmer. 
Pollock W. W., do 

Patterson James, 
Prebley Robert, do 

Pritty Jacob. do 



RATLIFF JOHN, farmer. 
Ratliff John. Jr., do 
Ratliff Daniel, do 

Ray Adam. do 

Regnault William, do 
Rath Leonard. do 



SIIAPPELL NICHOLAS, 
mer. 
Shuline John., farmer. 
Smith Theresa, do 
Stolle Gustavo, do 
Stevenson William, farmer. 
Spurgeon Lewis. do 

Stanly George. do 

Skinner John. do 



far- 



IHHBCTOBY. 



231 



TOWNSHIP 5 SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST— PRESTON. 



-«•►- 



THOMPSON JAMES B-, far- 
mer. 

Thompson John B., farmer. 
Thompson Adam II., do 
Thompson William, do 
Thompson Archibald C. farmer. 
Thompson John C, do 

Thompson John R., do 

Thompson James, do 

Thompson A. J.. do 

Thompson Robert M.. do 



WUNDERLEY MARTIN, far- 
mer. 
Wilson Ed. II., farmer. 
Wettenbrink Maxwell, farmer. 
Wyley John, do 

Wiley Joseph, do 

Wiley Samuel, do 

Wright Isaac Jr., do 

Wright John K., do 

Williamson J. K., do 

Wright A. C., do 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 1 WEST.— BURNETT'S. 



ADAMS SAMUEL B., farmer. 
Allen Andrew, do 

Allen William, do 



T)ESSEN GEORGE, 
J3 Bilyeri Michael, 


farmer 


do 


Born William, 


do 


Bern James A., 


do 


Black Thomas, 


do 


Barbeck Thomas, 


do 


Boak Godlip, 


do 


Bowers Aaron. 


do 


Boyd John II., 


do 


Boyd John V., 


do 


Boyle Thomas, 


do 


Boyle John, 


do 


Bean Reuben, 


do 


Burghans Edwin, 


do 


Burnett, Alexander, 


do 


Burnett \ ndrew, 


do 



p VM PB ELL THOMAS, farmer. 
\J Cox Absalom, do 

Cox William. do 

Cox Joseph M., do 



Cowan James, 
Cowan John J. 



farmer, 
do 



DANNUSE LEWIS, farmer. 
Douglas A. T., do 

Doaly John, do 



EW1NG CHARLES, farmer. 
Ewing William J., 



HAYS GEORGE, farmer. 
Hents Christian, do 
Henderson M. G., do 
Hill W. M., 
Hill John, 
Harden Frederick, 
Hay Bartholomew, 
1 Hoppu Michael A., 
Hulehcr William, 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



K 



ELLER ANDREW, farmer. 



232 



RANDOLPH COUNTY IMS l-XTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 4 SOUTH, RANGE 7 WEST.— BURNETT'S. 



LEMING JOSEPH E., farmer 
Leming Thomas, do 

Leming Hamilton, do 

Liddy Timothy, do 

Lawson David, do 

Lyons Joseph, do 



M 



ABE LARKIN, farmer. 
Mathews Robert, do 



Marvin William 0., do 
Marvin Joseph M., do 
Montgomery Joseph, do 
Mudd William, do 

McMurdo Thomas, do 
Mulherrn Luke, do 

McAuley James, do 

McAuley George W., farmer. 
McDonald James H., do 
McOormack James C. do 



NELSON WILLIAM R., farmer. 
Nelson George W.. do 
Nelson Robert L., do 

Nelson John A., do 

Newel James, do 







'HARRA HENRY, farmer. 



PRESTON ROBERT H., farmer 
and justice of the peace. 
Preston David C, farmer. 
Preston William B., do 



RHULE FREDERICK, farmer. 
Rhule Jared, do 



SCUDDER ISAAC Jr., farmer. 

Scudder Henry, do 

Shanback Ernest, do 

Snodgrass John M., do 

Spitz Conrad, do 

Stockwell John, do 

Stively Voluntine, do 



TAYLOR CHARLES W., far- 
mer. 
Thomj)son Archie, farmer. 
Thompson A. W., do 
Thompson Daniel C, do 
Thompson James, do 
Thompson Robert, do 
Telbert Wesly, do 



WEIDLING WILLIAM, far- 
mer. 
Wilson Absalom, farmer. 
Wilson. 



SHILOH HILL. 



About the years 1851-2, Mr Durke'b began selling 
goods at Gillespie's Prairie, which he continued until ho 
was succeeded by S. P. Mace, in 185G. Mace conducted 
the business until 1858, when he discontinued, and Mr. 
James Picket opened a store, and is now merchandizing 
in that neighborhood. In the autumn of the year 
185G, there was a sale of lots which had been previ- 
ously laid off, and which belonged to the eighty acre 
tract ceded by the Legislature of Illinois to the people 
of this neighborhood, for the purpose of establishing a 
College, to be entitled " Shiloh College," a charter for 
the College being given at the same time. 

A good school has been supported for a number of 
years at this place, although as yet they have no build- 
ing fitted for conducting a school of high grade ; yet, 
as the country is improving rapidly, and gaining 
strength with age, and the inhabitants in general being 
of industrious habits and literary turn of mind, we 
may safely predict that ere long a Seminary of high 
character will be in successful operation. 

The progress of the times will also demand that a 
town of more or less importance shall arise, that the 
people may dispose of their marketing, and obtain their 
purchases without the inconvenience of traveling to a 
distant place. 
*20 



SHILOH HILL DIRECTORY. 



TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— SHILOH HILL. 



-«*~ 



BARROW NEWTON, farmer 
Bilderback James F., do 
Bilderback William II.. 
Broughton Abel, 
Burke T. C., 
Burke J. K., 
Burke John B., 
Burke E. B., 
Butler Leaman, 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



OARUTHERS JOHN, Dr. 
Cannady Emanuel, farmer. 
Carson David, do 

Chapman Jeremiah, do 

Clark John, do 

Clifford Cunningham. do 
Crisler Owen F., do 

Crisler William, do 



DENNIS JOHN W., farmer. 
Dennis R. F.. do 



EMERY STEVEN, wagon- 
maker. 
Emery Henry, farmer. 
Emery John, do 
Emery Robert, blacksmith. 
Erchelmann Henry, farmer. 



TjlRAY MOSES, farmer. 



GILESPIE JAMES, farmer. 

Glore Jeptha, do 

Greer John R., do 

Greenawault Joseph, do 

Gray William, do 

Gray Jasper, do 

Gray William B., do 

Gwin James, do 

Gwin William 0., do 



H 



ALWORTH PAUL, farmer. 



Hagler John, do 

Hartman Henry, do 

Haney Hiram, do 

Haney Daniel, do 

Haney Douglas, do 

Helmns Henry, do 

Hobbs R. S., ' do 

Houseman J. M., do 

Hornbustle John H., do 

Husband Harmon, do 



IRELAND Martin, Justice of 
the Peace. 
I Ireland A. T., blacksmith, 



RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 



235 



TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 5 WEST.— SHILOH HILL. 



JONES JOHN C., farmer. 
Johnson Isaac R., do 
Johnson William L., do 
Johnson John C, do 



Pillers Andrew J., farmer. 
Pierson William, do 



KELLY THOMAS, farmer. 
Knope John F., do 
Knope Henry F.. do 



LANCASTER WILLIAM, far- 
mer. 
Lindenberg Clement, farmer. 
Lowery Hugh, do 

Leatterdell Hugh, do 



MACE S. P., merchant. 
Moore Francis, farmer. 
Mardin John S., do 

McCankey Robert, do 
McLaughlin James, Sr., farmer. 
McLaughlin James, Jr., do 
McLaughlin H. H., do 

McLaughlin John W., do 

McNeill Robert, do 

McNeill Harvey, do 



NEELY JOHN, farmer. 
Neal Thomas F., farmer. 



PARKHILL JOHN, farmer. 
Peters F. C, do 

Pister John, do 



REED WILLIAM W., farmer. 
Rickenberg Detrick, do 



SASSE ADOLPH, farmer. 
Sheldan D., do 

Short William A., farmer and car- 
penter. 
Shaffer John H., farmer. 
Simmons George, do 
Steele Wilson, 



Steele Alfred, 
Steele John T., 
Steele Andrew, 
Steele John M., 
Stone Joseph, 
Stone John, 



do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 



mHOMPSON ANDREW, far- 

A. mer. 

Tudar Thomas, farmer. 



VOWEL WYLIE, farmer. 
Vowel Jason, do 



W ALDER CONRAD, farmer. 
Welga Henry, do 



CAMPTOWN. 



On the completion of the Randolph County Plank 
Road in 1854, a toll gate was established about two 
miles from Chester. The next year Mr. G-. S. Rust 
being appointed gate keeper, erected a building and 
commenced selling goods. Mr. Rust soon after pur- 
chased a fractional part of Mr. Smith's farm which was 
cut off by the Plank Road, which he has recently laid 
off into lots and sold to private bidders. 

A hotel was built by Mr. G. S. Rust in the spring of 
1858. A workshop was also built by Rust & Fault 
for the purpose of manufacturing and repairing farm- 
er's implements. 

During the past season Mr. Alexander Lockead and 
Mr. H. A. Crawford have erected for themselves neat 
and substantial dwelling houses. Some other dwellings 
are in contemplation. 



.TOWNSHIP TREASURERS. 



Town 


. 4 


S., 


K. 


5 


W 


, David Munford, Treasurer. 


a 


5 


a 


a 


5 




John Mechan, 


a 


a 


6 


u 


a 


5 




Marshal W. Doggett, 


C( 


u 


7 


tl 


a 


5 


u 


Harmon Husband, 


a 


a 


8 


a 


a 


5 




Samuel Clendenin, 


(. 


« 


4 


a 


a 


6 




William Eutherford, 


a 


« 


5 


a 


a 


6 




James Parks, Acting 


a 


« 


6 


(( 


a 


6 




Edward Campbell, 


« 


<i 


7 


a 


a 


6 




Isaac Bust, 


u 


(4 


8 


u 


t( 


6 




Samuel Mansker, 


c( 


i< 


4 


a 


a 


7 




Francis Boyle, 


a 


a 


5 


a 


a 


7 




John B. Brantney, 


u 


a 


6 


a 


a 


7 




Wiley Eoberts, 


a 


.( 


7 


(( 


u 


7 




E. B. Servant, 


« 


u 


4 


tt 


a 


8 




J. E. Allen, 


a 


u 


5 


a 


a 


8 




H. D. Simpson, 


« 


a 


6 


« 


a 


8 




Charles Tilman, 


u 


u 


7 


a 


a 


8 




Never was organized. 




u 


5 


a 


u 


9 




William Henry, 


a 


a 


5 


a 


i. 


10 




The greater part of this Town- 


ship is in 


Monroe 


county, and the Treasurer, 0. M. 


Matin 


g ] 7 


, resides 


in 


Monroe county ; his 


30st office 


address I ha 


ve 


not le; 


irned. Mr. Bricky, of Prairie du 


Kocher, has transacted business for him. 





COURT DIRECTORY. 



COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.— Oi;oani7.kp 1795. 



Names of Judges. 



John Edgar, 
William Morrison, 
Pierre Menard, 
Bobert McMahon, 

George Fisher, 
John Beard, 



Robert Reynolds, 
Nathaniel Hull, 
Antoine Louvicr, 
John Grovenier, 
James Finney, 
Samuel Cochran. 



This Court was superseded in 1809 by the County 
Court, composed of Justices of the Peace, three of 
whom were necessary to constitute a quorum. 



Justices* Names. 



Phillip Fouko, 
Henry Le^ 
William Arundel, 
Samuel O'Melveny. 
John McFerren,. 
Paul Earrelston, 



David Anderson, 
Archibald Thompson, 
John Phelps, 
Alexander Wilson, 
Robert Gaston. 



RANDOLPH COUNT? DIRECTORY. 239 

The County Court was superceded I)}- the 
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS IN 1811. 

■f.>8 of Judges. 

John McFerren, George Fisher, 

William Morrison, Archibald Thompson, 

James Finney, Antoine L. Chenett, 

David Anderson, Miles Hotchkiss, 

Phillip Fouke, Pierre LaCampte. 

THE CoUNTV COMMISSIONERS' COURT— Established in 1819. 

Names of Commissioners. 

1819. — Curtis Conn. David Anderson, James Patter- 
son. 

1820. — David Anderson, James Thompson, Miles 
Hotchkiss. 

1822. — Gabriel Jones, Francois Menard, John Miller. 

1824.— Arthur Parks, Josiah Betts, Franklin P. 
Owen. 

1825. — Arthur Parks, Josiah Belts, John C. Crozier. 

1826.— Arthur Parks, R. H. Fleming, Pierre R. De- 
rouse. 

1827. — R. II. Fleming, Pierre R. Derouse, James S. 
Guthrie 

1828.— James S. Guthrie, Thomas Roberts, Felix St. 
Vrain. 

1830.— Thomas Roberts, William Gr. Hizer, John 
Thompson. 

1832.— Thomas Roberts, William G. Hizer, John G. 
Nelson. 



240 RANDOLPH COUNTY 

1834. — John G. Nelson, James Gillespie, James S. 
Guthrie. 

1835. — John G. Nelson, James Gillespie, Robert 
Clark. 

1336. — James O'Harra, Gabriel Jones, William G. 
Hizer. 

1838. — William G. Hizer, Samuel Douglas, Harvey 
Clendenin. 

1839. — William G. Hizer, Harvey Clendenin, Lawson 
Murphy. 

1841. — Harvey Clendenin, Lawson Murphy, Henry 
O'Harra. 

1842. — Harvey Clendenin, Henry O'Hara, John 
Mann. 

1844. — John Mann, Edward Campbell, Wm. McBride. 

The Record from 1844 to 1848 was destroyed by 
tire. 

Under the existing Constitution of Illinois, which 
went into operation in 1848, the County Court super- 
seded the County Commissioners' Court. 

1849. — John Campbell, County Judge. 

Reuben Bailey, Associate Justice. 
John Brewer, " " 

1853. — William P. Haskin, County Judge. 
James Gillespie, Associate Justice. 
Samuel B. Adams, " " 

lsf)4. — A vacancy occurring in L 854 by the death of 
Judge Haskin, Richard B. Servant was elected for the 
remainder of the term. 

1857. — John Campbell, County Judge. 

James Gillespie, Associate Justice. 
William Mudd, " " 



DIRECTORY. 241 

COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS. 

This Court was composed of Justices of the Peace, 
and held its sessions once in three months — hence the 
name of " Quarter Sessions/' 



GENERAL COURT. 

Upon the organization of Illinois Territory, in 1809, 
a higher Court, called the General Court, was estab" 
lished. The following named gentlemen appear to have 
acted as Judges of this Court, viz : 

Jesse B. Thomas, William Sprigg, 



Obadiah Jones, 
Alexander Stuart, 
Stanley Griswold, 



John Keynolds, 
Daniel P. Cook, 
John Warnock. 



SUPREME COURT. 



The Supreme Court of Illinois held its first Session in 
Kaskaskia, in 1819. XJ^pon the records pertaining to 
Eandolph County, the following named gentlemen ap- 
pear to have acted as Judges, viz : 



Joseph Phillips, 
Richard M. Young, 
Thomas Reynolds, 
John Reynolds, 



Theophilus W. Smith, 
Samuel D. Lockwood, 
Thomas C. Browne. 



CIRCUIT COURT. 

The judiciary of Illinois was remodeled and reor- 
ganized in 1835, at which time the Circuit Court was 
established. 
21 



242 



RANDOLPH COUNTY 



Names of Judges. 

1835.— Sidney Breese, , 1849.— W. H. Underwood, 

1843. — James Shields, j 1855. — Sidney Breese, 

1845.— Gustavus Kcerner, ' 1858.— H.K.S. O'Melveny. 



PROBATE COURT. 

This Court was established under the Constitution of 
1818. Curtis Conn was appointed Probate Judge, and 

held the office ten years. He was succeeded by 

Hunt, who remained in office but a short time ; and he 
was succeeded by James Thompson, who held the office 
seventeen years in succession — until the adoption of 
the new Constitution in 1848, since which time the 
County Judge has been ex-officio Judge of the Probate 
Court. 



1801, 

1803.- 
1805, 
1806, 
1814, 
1821, 
1823, 
1828, 



SHERIFFS OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 

; 1838 



-James Edgar, 
-George Fisher, 
-James Gilbreath, 
-Benjamin Stevens, 
-Henry Conner, 
-Samuel C. Cristy, 
-T. J. V. Owens, 
-Ignatius Sprigg, 



— John Campbell, 
1848.— John A. Wilson, 
1850.— Jno. P. Thompson. 
1852. — Sevenain St. Yrain, 
1854. — John Campbell, 
1856. — Sevenain St. Yrain, 
1858.— Anthony Steele. 



CLERKS OF THE GENERAL AND CIRCUIT COURTS. 



W. C. Greenup, 
James Hughs, 
William Gutherie, 
James Quin, 



John M. Langlois, 
Charles Kane, 
E. Leavenworth,, 
James M. Ralls. 



DIRECTORY. 243 

CLERKS OF THE COMMON TLEAS AND COUNTY COURT. 



1795. — TCobert Morrison, 
1809.— Wm. C. Greenup, 
1827.— Miles A. Hotchkiss, 
1832.— James Hughs, 
1838,— A. J. Dickison, 



1841.— F. Maxwell, 
1845.— John W. G-illis, 
1851. — James M. Cole, 
1853. — Isaac H. Nelson. 



COUNTY SURVEYORS. 



James Thompson, 
Samuel G. Thompson, 
Ferdinand Humphreys, 
Ezekiel W. Bobbins. 



James B. Parks, 
James Thompson, 
Joseph Noel. 



MEMBERS OF THE RANDOLPH COUNTY BAR. 



Thomas G. Allen, 
Francis B. Anderson, 
James C. Holbrook, 
E. G. Hallowell, 



John Michan, 
W. P. Murphy, 
Thomas S. Morrison, 
James H. Watt. 



COUNTY OFFICERS. 

John Campbell, County Judge. 

James Gillespie, Associate Justice. 

William Mudd, " " 

Isaac H. Nelson, Clerk County Court. 

James M. Balls, Clerk Circuit Court, and Becorder 

Joseph Noel, Surveyor. 

James Thompson, Deputy Surveyor. 

Hugh B. Nisbet, Treasurer and Assessor. 

Eli Lofton, School Commissioner. 



244 



RANDOLPH COUNT! 



Kaskaskia Pfct 



Chester Precinct. 



Liberty Precinct. 



Mill Crcd;. 



G-eorgefn Prec't. 



Sparta Precinct. 



Burnett's Prec't. 



Union Precinct. 



PRECINCT OFFICERS. 

f John Stype, Justice of the Peace. 
I Louis Derouse, " " " 

1 Edward Boocherie, Constable. 
[ James Hunt, Constable. 

' Felix Hughs, Justice of the Peace. 

Leonard Crisler, " " " 

H. M. Crawford, " ; - " 

Amos Taggart, Constable. 

Amos Ditty, " 

v John Harmon, Jr., " 

f Alex. Barber, Justice oft he Peace. 
1 E. J. Ward, " « " 

( W. B. Jernigan, Constable. 

( S. P. Mace, Justice of the Peace. 

Martin Ireland, Justice of the Peace. 

Isaac R. Johnson, Constable. 
[ Elijah Stokes, « 

( A. G. Sowerby, Justice of the 

Peace. 
I Mathias R. Ray, Justice of the 

Peace. 
Cyrus E. Robbison, Constable. 
v John T. Steele, " 

( John Taylor, Justice of the Peace. 
J W. R. Brown, " " " 

1 Hugh C. Gault, Constable. 
[ Andrew Wilson, " 

( R. H. Preston, Justice of the Peace. 
! J. J. Borders, " " « 

\ William North, Constable. 
(_ James McMillan, do, 

'John R. Adams, Justice of the Peace. 

Nathaniel Smith, " " « 

John F. Outen, Constable, 
t Charles G. Gore, " 



DIRECTORY. 245 

PRECINCT OFFICERS— Continued. 

-r, t t, 7 ( Wm. Henry, Justice of the Peace. 
Pra. du JRocher. j John Brcw J er , « « 

( J. A. Douglas, Justice of the Peace. 
^ .„ -p , . J J. B. Bratney, " " " 

■nvansviUe fr ct. < John M Thompson, Constable. 

[A. C. Wright, Constable. 

f Pi, B. Servant, Justice of -the Peace. 
„. „.. Gabriel Jones, Justice of the Peace. 

Chester Uty < Thomas H. Callaway, Constable. 

^John C. McQuiston, " 



246 RANDOLPH COUNTY DIRECTORY. 

ILLINOIS MUTUAL 

INSURANCE COMPANY. 



4 <* » » » 



INCORPORATED IN 1839. 
PRINCIPAL OFFICE AT ALTON, ILL. 

C.A.FX^D'.AXj, 81.000,000. 



4 m ♦ » » 



Stores and Merchandise, Dwelling Houses and Furniture ; Barns 
and Hay and Grain ; First Class Mills, Shops, and other Building*, 
with their contents, insured against 

LOSS OR DAMAGE BY FIRS. 

This Company has now been in existence over twenty years ; — 
does not issue Policies out of this State ; — has paid nearly Half a 
Million Dollars for Losses ; — has furnished Insurance to its member 
for less than two-thirds the price charged by the best Stock Com 
panies. It has the largest and best secured Capital of any Insur 
ance Company in the West. 

Arrangements have now been completed, which enables the Di 
rectors to pay all Losses within ninety days ! Merchants can .now 
have their Stocks insured in the Illinois Mutual, and in case 01 
loss, actually get their money as soon as is promised by any other 
Company. 

To the Farmer and the Mechanic, this Company has become a 
State Benevolent Association, in which, at a moderate cost, their 
Homes and Shops may be insured against the ravages of Fire, with 
a certainty that, if "destroyed, they will receive the WHOLF 
AMOUNT INSURED, without litigation, or unnecessary delay. 

It has become the Insurance Company for the People of Illinois, 
— annually saving large sums of money in the State that would 
otherwise be taken out by foreign Companies. With all these in- 
ducements, who can now afford to remain uninsured in the Illinois 
Mutual ? 

BOAHD OF DIRECTORS. 
B. K. Hart, >i. P.. Alt >n. John Atwood, Esq.. Alton. 



Hon. Samuel Wade. Alton. 
Hon. H. W. Billings. Alton. 
John James, M. D., Upper Alton. 
Timothy Turner, Esq., MonticeUo. 



J. W. Schweppe, Esq., Alton. 
Benjamin F. Long, M. D., MonticeUo. 
Kuas Hibbakd, Esq., Alton. 
Hon. Francis A. Hoffmann, Chicago. 



Hon. Lyman Trumbull, Alton. : Lewis Kellknberger. LVq.. Alton. 

Hon. Robert Smith. Alton. , M. Q. Atwood, Esq., Alton. 

IIknry Li \. Esq., Alton. 

Benjamin F. Long, President. M. G. Atwood, Secretary. 

L. Kellknbkrokb, Treasurer. | John Atwood, Assistant Secretary. 

JOHN BLAISDELL, General Agent. 
A. C. Hankinson, Assistant General Agent. 

Agents have been appointed in every County, and in all the principal Cities an«. 
Town* in the State, to whom application for Insurance mat he made. 



